Seven Years War
by Syntastics
Summary: The war is over, they are together... forever. MidnaxLink entirely.
1. Shattered

"So I guess this is farewell, huh? Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know. But… never forget that there is another world bound to this one." Midna said softly to Zelda and Link.

"Light and Shadow are two sides of the same coin…. One cannot exist without the other. I know now the reason the Gods left the mirror in this world. It was their design that we should meet. Yes, that is what I believe," the princess of destiny said, the wind blowing her hair.

"Zelda, your words are kind, and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you… then maybe you'll do alright."

Midna stepped up to the platform… her soft eyes and smile giving her somewhat happy disguise away and revealing the miserable princess within. The Mirror of Twilight displayed the steps, and she hurried up them.

"Well, the princess spoke truly, as long as this mirror's around we could see each other again… Link…" Midna murmured. "I…. See you later…"

A single golden tear fell from the Twilight Princess' eye. It fell off her cheek, and before it came in contact with her hand, she pushed it towards the mirror. It floated slowly over to it, and Link and Zelda thought nothing of it until the tear hit the Triforce in the middle. It cracked the mirror, yet still shined its light on Midna.

Mid-warp back into the Twilight Realm, the mirror shattered.

The tall lean figure that was Midna fell in a crumpled heap below. Zelda examined the Mirror, trying to unsuccessfully piece it back together. Link ran over to Midna, examining for wounds. Midna was fine, and stood up.

The Twilight Princess had orange-red hair which was tied around her neck like a necklace. Her eyes almost matched her hair color, and she wore a cloak that appeared to be attached to her. Her skin was black and white, and her dress exposed one grey leg. Link looked relieved to know she wasn't able to go back to the Twilight Realm, yet was sad because he thought she wanted to.

"Wha… what just happened?" Midna asked, already knowing the answer.

"You shattered the mirror before it got you into the Twilight Realm," Link answered matter-of-factly.

"You mean… I can never go back?!"

Link had no response. Midna went over to the mirror. If she had shattered it, she could put it back together again, right?

Wrong. The pieces wouldn't fit together, and some turned to dust. She could never go back.

Midna knelt in front of the mirror, and Zelda put one hand on her back. As if that soothed her. She violently shrugged Zelda off, and she backed away. Midna stayed put, and Link came up behind Zelda.

"What can we do?" Link whispered, barely audible.

"I don't know… I feel horrible for her. She went through all of that trouble to overthrow Zant, save her world, save our world, and the only thing we can give in return for her is for her to return to the Twilight Realm, and not even that will happen."

Link nodded. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he walked up to Midna.

"It's ok, Midna. We actually find it to be quite liveable! I mean, is light 12 hours of the day really all that bad?" Link quoted partially.

Midna realized the quote, but just glared at him. "Yes," she muttered darkly.

"What happened to the Midna that was so determined to save Hyrule, even after her world was saved?"

"She's back in the Twilight Realm!"

Link sighed. "Midna, I understand your anguish. When that beast pulled me through the curtain of Twilight, I was p'od."

"Your point?"

"My point, Midna, is that if I hadn't been turned into a wolf, I wouldn't have met you. And if you didn't come to my rescue, I would've rotted in that dungeon cell in Hyrule Castle until the world was covered in perpetual twilight."

"I still don't understand your point of understanding my anguish."

"Zant and Ganondorf. They ruined Hyrule, and all I wanted was my revenge. So I listened to you- maybe you could help me. And you did. You did that and more."

Link smiled a very convincing smile. Every time Link did that Midna melted. She never showed it, but she did.

She nodded, and Zelda walked back up to them.

"Well, I really must be going. They built a bridge between Hyrule Field and the Gerudo Desert, and an escort is waiting."

"Well, I would be considered an enemy if I didn't help the princess, so let me escort you to your escort," Link suggested cheerfully.

"I'm gonna stay back," Midna said.

"Thank you, Link. I will see you later, Midna!" Zelda called over her shoulder.

Midna was still kneeling before the Mirror of Twilight when Link and Zelda left. Perhaps… Perhaps if she tried with all of her power…

Yes! Yes, the pieces were reforming! She used more power on the ones that were turned to dust, exhausting her. Yet one by one, the pieces fit back on the empty frame like a puzzle.

Link would be coming back soon… and if he caught her trying to desperately get back to the Twilight Realm, he would be heartbroken and think she doesn't like him…

But that wasn't true! Midna did like him… maybe she even loved him. But she couldn't admit those feelings to herself.

She looked out from beyond the Mirror Chamber. She couldn't see the bridge, nor Link or Zelda. He might be back soon…

Midna began to work faster. The pieces moved at an aggravatingly slow pace, but finally she got it all together. She sprinted up the stairs, just in time to see Link appear from behind the wall. His face fell when he saw her, and Midna disappeared into the Twilight Realm with a sad and confused look on her face.


	2. Too Many Problems to Count

Midna walked, slowly but surely, into the Twilight Realm. The Twili looked at her in astonishment, then hurried over to embrace the princess. Some wore confused expressions, but didn't ask Midna what was wrong.

As she was walking, two Twili were arguing back and forth about something Midna missed, and a crowd was forming around them, so Midna couldn't see what was happening. She didn't care too much, so she kept walking

She went over to one of her secret places in the Twilight Realm- the room that used to have the Sol in it. Now Link had it…

Link…

Midna shoved the thought away. She knew she couldn't go back.

_Light and Shadow can't mix,_ Midna reminded herself.

Then she realized something completely important. She hadn't broken the mirror again! It may have shattered because she put it together wrong, but she could always hope…

"Princess?" someone called. A guard, one of Midna's most loyal ones. He would die for her.

"Yes?" Midna responded in the most non-sad, cheerful mood she could. It came out a little different, but at least her voice didn't crack.

"May I come sit down beside you?"

"Yes, of course."

The guard, whose name was Zeph, plopped down beside the princess. He set his walkie-talkie on the ground and looked at the place the Sol had been.

"He was a good man," Zeph said quietly.

Midna did everything she could to keep the tears from trickling out of her eyes. Some escaped, and Zeph noticed.

"You miss him," he stated.

"Yes," Midna squeaked.

"Then Princess Midna, pardon me, but why are you here? If you miss him, then go back to him."

Midna looked over at him. Zeph was in no way mad or surprised. That was why he was the best friend Midna ever had in the Twilight Realm.

"I couldn't leave my people." _Even though I already did._

"The only reason we suffered when you were gone was because of Zant. Zant's gone, Princess. We will be fine. Or at least don't break the mirror so you can come back."

Midna noticed the pleading in Zeph's eyes, even if she wasn't supposed to. It hurt her even more to go back to the world of light.

Suddenly a buzz on Zeph's walkie-talkie made Midna jump.

"Yes?" Zeph talked into it.

More buzzing came out of the walkie-talkie, but Midna couldn't hear what was being said.

"I cannot- I am here with the Princess."

More buzzing evaporated out of the walkie-talkie, and Midna cocked her head to the side when Zeph said okay and turned to look at her.

"Two Twili broke out into a fight in front of the palace. They want me to stop them."

"Then go- I will be fine here," Midna suggested.

"No, it is fine. Other guards will take care of it."

Just then, as he was speaking, voices rang out of the walkie-talkie. Midna could hear it because they were yelling.

"Zeph, you're the only person who can break up this fight! It's getting pretty ugly- this fight's one to the death! Come on, Zeph! Hurry up!"

Zeph sighed and turned to the princess of twilight.

"Will you be alright alone?"

How should Midna respond? Alone, she would go back to thinking about Link. This was, of course, not the thing to think about.

"Yes, I'll be okay." _Physically, not emotionally. _

Zeph nodded and hurried out the door. The Twilight Realm was a peaceful place now that the monsters, including Zant, were gone.

So was Link…

_No! Stop! You'll only make yourself hurt more. Look at how nice that alter that once held the Sol looks. Isn't it pretty? _

Midna tortured herself with these meaningless observations for the next hour. Then someone came in and interrupted her thinking.

The man was panting, and not someone she recognized.

"Princess… Midna… fight… died…"

"Take some time to rest, and then tell me," Midna advised.

The man that looked like a guard nodded and sat down. _Lazy soldier. _

When he could speak clearly, he stood up and walked over to her.

"The fight got out of hand, and someone died."

Midna felt a wave of sadness wash through her, but wasn't too interested to care that much. "Who?"

"The soldier. Zeph, I believe his name was."

Suddenly that wave of sadness turned into a tsunami, and it hit her heart hard.

"Z-zeph?!" Midna croaked. The guard closed his eyes and nodded.

Midna swallowed to keep the tears from running. _Be strong. Zeph would have told you that._

She squeezed her eyes shut and kept them like that. All she wanted right now was a hug, and a shoulder to cry on.

Her breath came in stuttered gasps, and before she could hyperventilate, the guard put a hand on her shoulder.

Zeph was gone. He was wherever the dead people of the Twilight go. Probably to hell, because they were banished from the light.

Then her brain switched to a whole new topic. _Banished. I'm not even allowed to go back to Hyrule. _

As if the guard could read her mind, he spoke.

"Go back to where you are wanted," the guard said snidely.

"Ex-excuse me?!"

"You like those light folk more than your own people. Everyone can see that. Even Zeph did, but he was too much of a softie to say anything. Princess, he _loved_ you. And you left him in the dust. And you didn't come back when you could've! So why don't you just get the hell out of here?!"

Midna couldn't believe her ears or her eyes. _He doesn't have authority over me! Punish him! _

Yet she didn't move, nor did she say anything. She just let the tears escape and gush out of her eyes like a waterfall. They scurried down her cheeks and onto her lap, then dissolved into her dress. She started shivering, but she wasn't cold.

Midna stood up and walked out of the room. The guard shook his head in disgust and uttered something unintelligible as she walked past him.

When she walked out of the palace, a group of people were waiting for her.

"Princess Midna, are you leaving?"

"Will you be coming back?"

"Do you still care for us?"

"Why don't you love us like you love the light people?"

To that, Midna just looked into the Twili's face with the most miserable expression she had. She lost the people of the light world she loved, and her best friend in the Twilight Realm. As well as the people she deserted.

Midna went up to the main palace and cleared her throat loudly. The Twili turned their heads and listened.

"People of the Twilight Realm!" Midna called loudly. "I care for you all with a deep, pure passion! You must understand this! Yet I do care for a few people of the world of light! You may think that I deserted you, abandoned you. And I understand that."

Something was coming through to the Twilight Realm, but Midna was too distracted to divert her attention to who it was.

"But what you don't understand is that I left because I was thrown out by Zant! And I stayed in the light world to find the fused shadows and overthrow Zant and save the Twilight Realm. I didn't care what happed to the world of light, not at all.

"Yet as I ventured into Hyrule, the kingdom where I stayed, I found that we, meaning Link and I, had to save his world too. For the sake of humanity and our world, both worlds must live in peace! So I am going to visit the light world, and I'm going to visit often. I must make sure that their world is prospering, in order for ours to as well.

"So you may call me whatever you like, say whatever you want, but I am only doing it for the good of the Twilight Realm. If you would rather live in agony and suffering, then fine, have it your way. But I am not going to do that. I have a brain, muscles, and feelings. I can do things, as can you. So I'm going to do what's best, and that is to check. I will remain here! I assure you! But I love other people and I'm going to do what is right!"

It was quiet for a moment, but then the crowd erupted in applause. They began to stand up and cheer, and Midna noticed few dry eyes.

She was relieved that the Twili thought the same, and Midna walked down towards the Mirror of Twilight.

"You really think that?" came a quiet voice from behind her.

Midna whirled around and saw a man dressed in green with slightly overgrown dirty blonde hair.

"Link!" Midna cried, throwing her arms around his neck.

Link was taken aback by the sudden embracement, but put his arms around her anyway.

A circle of Twili formed around the two, and teenagers started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Midna put her arms down and put them behind her back. She flushed a little, and just wanted to go away.

Link looked a little embarrassed too, and looked down.

The chanting got louder, but the circle widened a bit to give them room. They were expecting quite a display.

Link looked up at Midna. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and the crowd cheered loudly.

Midna's eyes widened and put one hand on her cheek where Link had kissed her. Did he really just do that? She would tell him off later. Lightly, but she would.

The crowd dispersed, and that left just Midna and Link.

"Well, that was interesting," Link murmured.

Midna chuckled. "Yeah… just a bit."

They hugged again, and Midna felt lighter than she had in a long time.


	3. Soap Opera

Link bid Midna farewell and walked up to the entryway to Hyrule.

"Wait!" Midna called.

Link turned around, a sad face replacing his fake happiness.

"I… I can't leave you, Link…. It was too hard, and I'm too weak. So… if I could…"

"Come back to Hyrule?" Link offered.

"Just for a little while?"

"Of course, Midna. You're always welcome to the world you saved."

"Actually, you saved it. And the Twilight Realm, which I thank you for."

Link chuckled. "All in a few months work."

Midna smiled, and ducked into Link's shadow. Who knows what the light world would do to her?

Link uncertainly stepped forward and the mirror of twilight transported him to the roof of Arbiter's Grounds.

Shad was there, trying to show some people how the Mirror of Twilight works. It wasn't that hard, but he was showing that the white rectangle in front of the mirror was dangerous, and that no one must touch it. _Idiot. He doesn't know enough science to teach a human to breathe._

"Aha! Hello, Link! Did you… Did you by chance just come from the Twilight Realm?"

Link stepped onto the platform, purposefully just stepping on the rectangle.

"Ack! Ah! My ankle! I… I think I broke my ankle!" Link whined. "Don't… Don't step on that! In fact, I think you all should leave here! It could cause something dangerous to happen, and all of you will break your ankle!"

That was the most pathetic thing Midna heard anyone say, and it sounded especially pathetic coming from the guy who saved these people's sorry butts.

"Okay, everyone let us get out of here! Link, do you need the doctor in Castle Town?" Shad asked with a straight face.

"Pssh, that doctor can't even heal a paper cut."

Shad nodded warily, and shooed everyone out.

"You better go too, Shad," Link warned. Midna saw his lip twitching just a little bit as he spoke, obviously stifling laughter.

"Oh yes, uh, of course." Shad reluctantly walked down below, and I jumped out of Link's shadow.

"Thanks," Midna murmured quietly. "We don't want anyone else coming into the Twilight Realm."

"Anytime. So, where are you going to stay?"

"Huh?" Midna asked, confused.

"Well, are you staying overnight?"

"Oh," Midna's face flushed, "I… I don't know yet."

"Well, you're welcome to sleep on one of the hammocks in my house. They're not that bad once you get used to them…"

"That'll be great. Thanks."

"No problem… So… what do you want to do?"

Midna pondered that for a moment. Now that she got what she wanted, what _did_ she want to do? "Uh… Shall we go see Princess Zelda?"

"We can't- she's helping with the rebuild of Castle Town after Ganondork destroyed it."

"Ganondork?" Midna repeated.

"He's a jerk, and Ganondork just worked with his name."

Midna giggled and looked at the lone tower that remained standing after the explosion. The tower that once housed the princess of Hyrule. Ironic, isn't it?

"Midna, I think you can come out of my shadow for good now. You're fine in the light world, even if it's rid of the Twilight. We've already noticed that."

"Is there another reason why you want me solid?" Midna laughed.

Link looked blankly at the princess. "I don't ge- Midna! No! Just out of my shadow, that's it!"

The Twilight Princess chuckled and turned back into the tall, dark figure that was Midna. She loved being solid in the light world- it made her feel more normal. Like she wasn't a descendant of evil monsters who plotted to take over the world.

Midna warped them back to Gerudo's Valley and they looked at the barren wasteland covered in sand.

"Why does sand have to be so hot?" Midna complained playfully.

"Because sand absorbs sunlight," Link said seriously.

"What's wrong?"

Link looked away from her, staring absently at the pillars rising out of the building housing the Mirror of Twilight. "Nothing I want to say aloud."

"You can trust me," Midna said, her voice soft.

"I know."

They were silent, and Midna spaced out. She looked blankly at the sand, imagining things that could never be real, like Link living in the Twilight, or her living in Hyrule.

"It's myself I don't trust," Link added after a moment.

The sound of his voice lured her out of her imagination, and she spoke up. "Why?"

Link turned to face her, his expression unreadable. Midna guessed it was a combination of hurt and confusion, judging by his evasiveness.

"You know you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" she added reluctantly.

"I know. But… if I go insane and turn into something… evil… will you do what's… necessary?"

Midna knew what he was asking. That if Link went mad, he wanted her to kill him. She pictured it- herself diving a knife into his chest… watching the light fade out of his eyes as they glaze over, his skin turning cold and his movements grow faint…

Midna shuddered. "No. I couldn't do that to you. Not a chance. But… why are you asking me this?"

Link hesitated. He was going to tell her, that much she could tell. But how he was going to spit it out was undecided.

"Listen. You may think that I'd be going mad for what I'm about to say, but just… listen."

Midna nodded warily.

"Ok. Well… when I saw you disappear into the Twilight Realm, I thought that you hated the light world and should just leave you alone. But I didn't get halfway down to the entrance of Arbiter's Grounds when I realized that I can't be without you for the rest of eternity."

Link paused, and Midna noticed that he'd become quite the chatterbox around her lately.

"You may not have to be here forever; I know how much you love the Twilight Realm."

Yeah, and Midna knows how much the Twilight Realm loves her.

"But please, at least come here sometimes…"

"As I told the Twili," Midna began, "I'm going to come here often. My excuse was that worlds must live in peace in order to prosper. Which may be true, but there are people I love here in Hyrule too." Midna blushed, accidentally giving away something that she meant to be kept secret.

Midna caught a glimpse of Link blushing just as he jerked his head away in the opposite direction. She also caught a smile on his face, which made Midna's day.

"Want to go back to Ordon and greet your friends?" Midna offered.

Link turned her way and smiled. "Sure."

Midna warped them to Ordon Spring, and Link walked forwards, but Midna stayed back.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"I don't think I'll be welcome there."

"Come on, they've seen some weird things. You're no different." Link smiled that said he was only teasing her, but Midna felt a sharp stab pierce her heart. She knew that this bothered her more than it should, but the realization sunk in to her despair.

She was all wrong for him.

"No, I'm fine here," Midna said defiantly. Link was taken aback by her sudden change in mood, and nodded and walked down to his tiny village.

Midna made sure that he was out of sight and earshot before she started walking. She followed him in the shadows of the trees, and once she broke a twig Link stopped and looked around.

"Who's there?" he bellowed.

Midna didn't reply. She stood behind a tree staring at him from afar. He started towards her, but a little figure gave him a hug from behind.

"LINK!" the figure cried. A little blonde figure with a wooden sword and shield on his back. Midna recognized the figure as Colin, Rusl's son.

_A sword and shield? Wasn't he always the shy one?_

Then she remembered something Link had told her. Colin had said that he was going to be just like Link. Cute kid.

But Midna focused on Link. She didn't know why she was spying on him, but she felt that she needed to.

"Ilia and everybody is waiting for you, Link! Come on!" Colin led the way back to Ordon with Link trailing behind him, warily watching his surroundings.

Midna followed as silently as a mouse around the trees and over branches. When she got to Ordon, she noticed that Ilia and Link were gone. She had gotten there too late to see where they went. So she listened to people talking to see where they went.

Uli, Colin's mom, and Colin were talking quietly, so she listened to them from the shadows.

"Oh Colin! I'm so glad you're home!" Uli cried.

"I'm glad I'm home too! And I'm going to protect Ordon alongside dad, just like Link! So when Link's gone, Ordon will be safe!"

Colin really was ambitious. And all of these kids idled Link. Their hearts would break if he was gone.

"Speaking of which, where is he? He hasn't given me a hug yet," Uli complained. Midna listened harder, and Colin spoke more and more quietly.

"They went to the ranch. Ilia wanted to talk to Link privately, so Fado's down here."

Oo, that was going to be hard. There were no trees around there. So Midna had to be stealthy. Fortunately , she was good at that. She snuck around Rusl and Uli's house and ducked into the river. As soon as the coast was clear, she darted up the hill to the ranch.

Ilia and Link were seated on the grass. Ilia was talking to Link softly, so softly Midna couldn't hear. She strained her ears and listened hard.

"I'm sorry that you had to do that for me," Ilia murmured. They must be talking about getting her memory back.

"It wasn't that hard- I had help of a friend," Link replied.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know, but she was very nice."

Midna chuckled silently. Nice wasn't the word she wanted to describe her. She was only nice to Link, not to this girl whom she was really starting to hate.

"Link… I really missed you. Whether I remembered your name or not, I missed you."

Link hesitated. He looked around cautiously, saw nothing, and returned to Ilia.

"I missed you too," he murmured.

Another sharp pain erupted in Midna's chest. Link loved this girl, that much was evident. More reason to stay in Hyrule.

"Link…" Ilia said softly. She leaned in and planted one right on his mouth.

Midna expected Link to pull away- she could tell he wasn't a fan of kissing. But he put his arms around her waist and angled his head so they could kiss better.

Midna couldn't stand it. She teleported herself away, and as she was leaving she saw Link look up, and then they were gone.

**(Link's POV) **Black squares evaporated into the air, and Link recognized them immediately. Ilia didn't though, thankfully.

"What's that?" she asked when she pulled away.

Midna saw all of that. She saw him kiss Ilia so intently, and Link just wanted to stab Midna. Why was she spying on him?

"I… I have to go…" Link murmured.

_My life is turning into a soap opera… _


	4. Princess Angst

_**Author's Note! I'm not hairist against blondes! Take no offense! It's just that Ilia's blonde and… **_

**(Midna's POV) **Midna stormed off when her feet touched the roof of Arbiter's Grounds. Clearly Link didn't want her in Hyrule, regardless of what he says. The moon was up by the time she touched land, and she stared at it for awhile.

It was beautiful. The perfect fullness and the light shining down on her against the black of night illuminated by the little glowing dots that were stars…

Maybe Link having a girlfriend wasn't _too_ bad… Hyrule is so beautiful it would be hard to leave it…

No. Midna's mind was decided. And Link wouldn't be able to get here so fast this time unless Ilia had the ability to teleport. Last time she checked, all she had was the power to tick off somebody. Didn't Link once tell her that Ilia got p'od when Epona got a little injury in her leg that was perfectly fine? She's overreactive, overprotective, and overannoying. She should just shut that little mouth of hers up once in a while.

She walked up to the platform of the Mirror of Twilight and let it take her into the Twilight Realm.

***********************************************************************************

No one was there to greet her except the familiar black cloud of Twilight looming overhead.

_Everyone's sleeping... I bet that Link is just all content sleeping with his little blondie that I could break in half if I flick her. _

She walked up to central square, well, circle. Where Link had kissed her. That little back-stabbing son of a bitch.

She shook her head in disgust and tried to wipe the memory from her mind. Was it only yesterday?

She kept walking up to the main palace and stepped inside. Nothing sounded; no one came to meet her. Strange.

Midna looked around. The stairs led up to the second floor, which led to the balcony. The princess decided she would look out at her kingdom before bed. She just wanted a little peace and quiet to give herself time to think.

She stepped out, and found that this was where everyone was.

"Princess Midna! Thank goodness you've arrived!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"We want to pass a law that every Twili must be in his or her house by 9:00 pm, sharp! And Princess, we'd also like to- um, Princess Midna?" Midna already started to walk back inside before the soldier finished his sentence.

She walked up the steps to her bedroom and sat down on her bed. It promised warmth and comfort, and she could really use that now. Without changing, she hid under the covers and cried.

**(Link's POV) **"Why, Link? Why do you have to go?" Ilia asked him.

"It feels like that's not supposed to be here," Link muttered. He called Epona and took off towards Faron Woods. Ilia stood watching him go, putting on her best pouting face just in case he turned to look back. But he didn't.

He followed the path then turned left at the place the guy gave him the lantern. When he kept going straight, it led out to Hyrule Field. He went east and went over the Great Bridge of Hylia until he found the bridge to the Gerudo's Desert. Making Epona go as fast as she could, Link raced down the bridge and went towards Arbiter's Grounds.

He saw a bright light shining out from the roof of the temple. He was too late. But as he listened harder, no shattering was heard. Midna hated him, yet she didn't break the mirror?

Link slowly came to his senses. Midna would hate him and since she had rule over all of the Twilight, she could make her soldiers rip and tear him to bits and pieces.

Link's eyes narrowed as he realized this. Midna- that traitor! They were best friends, then Midna had to storm off after a simple kiss with his friend that he's known longer than her! He petted Epona in apology and they trotted away.

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Link reached Ordon Village by around 10:30 at night. He decided to sleep in one of his hammocks. The other one was set up nicely for Midna, but he threw the pillows off of it and let them sit on the dusty floor. He lay down on his woven hammock and rested his hand on his hand-made pillow. Midna was probably sleeping with a plush pillow and silk sheets, enjoying being back where she belonged. Well, Link enjoyed being back in Ordon, being the ranch-hand, and teaching the children how not to handle a sword.

_"You mean to say that part right there is sharp?" _ "Kids these days…" Link murmured. _"Well, Beth, it has to be! How else is Link going to slay those monsters?" _

Well, it depends which monsters. Some need to be eradicated all at once, which is impossible without someone that can make a force field appear out of her hair.

Link turned over onto his side and shut his eyes. He knew he wasn't going to sleep a wink, but he tried anyway. He tried dreaming about his victory over Ganondorf, but Midna was in it. His journey to gather the fused shadows and mirror shards was out, and what happened today was way out. So anything he thought about had to deal with Midna.

Then he thought about the good ole' days when none of this had happened yet. He hadn't turned into a wolf, Ilia and Colin never had been kidnapped, the Twilight never devoured Hyrule. Link was wearing clothes sewn together by random pieces of fabric, and he always made sure he caught the goats that got loose.

He moved to thinking about the kids. They loved him like an older brother, and they always believed in him.

_"Link is coming to save us all!" _Link smiled at the memory in Kakariko. Colin had believed in him from the very beginning. He smiled again and drifted off to sleep.

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**(Midna's POV) **Midna awoke the next day to find that soldiers were crowding around her, watching.

"May I help you?" the princess asked, irritated.

"You came back!" they yelled. Apparently they hadn't been at last nights meeting.

"Of course I did. I said I would. What, you thought I lied?"

"Oh no, Princess, we just thought-"

"That's great. Now please leave so I may change."

The soldiers exchanged looks and left Midna's quarters. They were stunned to silence that the kind princess would snap at them like that, but they guessed it was just hormones.

Midna groaned loudly when they were gone. Another day of staring down people until they left her alone. Ah, the joys of being a princess of darkness.

She threw on some random top and floor length skirt- she had nothing else. They were all black, so it didn't really matter. She walked out to her throne room to find several merchants awaiting her. They bowed when she entered.

"Stand up," Midna commanded. The merchants immediately stood up straight.

"Alright, let 'er rip."

The merchants gave her confused looks. Princesses were supposed to have manners and speak in a formal tone, right?

"Pardon?" one of the sales people asked.

"What do you want?" Midna asked, really getting fired up.

"Umm… permission to sell food at central circle?" the fruits guy asked.

"Knock yourself out. Next!" Midna yelled. This continued for the next 45 minutes, and Midna dismissed them all when it was over. Murmurs went throughout the room when they were leaving, but Midna couldn't care quite enough to be interested in what they were saying.

Then a group of teenagers entered the room. There were about twenty of them, and they all looked guilty.

"Why are you here?" Midna barked at them.

They cringed and no one spoke up.

"Well?!"

"Princess Midna, they are in your royal presence because they are charged with illegal drinking of alcohol. They took part in encouraging the fight that included the death of a beloved soldier, Zeph."

Midna felt a pang hit her heart at his name. Her voice softened and she spoke more formally.

"Why did you do this deed?" she asked the teenagers. No answer. "If you do not respond, I will assume you all guilty. I do not wish to do that to you, so answer!" Midna was forgetting to be kind to them, but she was starting to give up the whole charade.

"To have fun…" one of them murmured quietly.

"Why can't you have fun on your own without the aid of alcohol?" Midna asked. She was getting annoyed again.

There wasn't any response.

"Okay then. Send them all to pris-"

"Wait!" one of the teenagers called. Everyone turned to look at him.

"I cannot speak for everybody," the teenager began, "but I did it because I felt like a disgrace to my family name."

Midna looked at him curiously, so the boy continued.

"I am the son of Zeph."

To that, the princess had no answer. She felt her jaw fall open slightly. Zeph never told her he had a son! He never told her he was married either.

But there was, of course, the possibility that the child was bluffing, but when she looked at the boy, his face did resemble his father's.

"What do you want to do?" the soldier who guided the group in asked the princess.

Midna hesitated, but then she made up her mind. "Send them home."

"But-" the soldier began.

"Not a word. Let them go home. But if they have any sense at all, they won't drink again. Or appear in my throne room for a negative cause."

They murmured their thank you's and hung their heads as they left. The soldier shrugged and followed them out. Midna sighed and slouched in her chair. She stared at her hand resting on the arm rest. It didn't interest her; she just was wondering why she was the princess. She wanted to have a chance at a normal life, like Link before he knew he was the legendary hero.

Link…

She clenched her hands into fists, digging her nails into her flesh. How could she have believed the lie that Link loved her? _Wasn't it he who cheated?!_

Okay, now that was a stupid thought. She didn't know that Link loved her, and he could kiss whatever bitch he wanted to.

Midna would forever dislike blondes.

Link's kind of blonde…

More reason to hate him!

Midna got up and wiped the blood off her hands from her nails. She walked outside to the front of the palace and sat down on one of the benches that weren't here when she left for Hyrule. It was still morning, maybe around eleven. She leaned back and hit something hard, steel. The benches weren't made of steel.

"This bench you are seated on is a symbol for the brave soldier, Zeph, who gave his life in an attempt to save two teenager's lives. He will be missed and will always be loved."

That almost made tears come to her eyes. His name kept popping up, which made Midna feel horrible. It was only yesterday that he was alive. How could it have been that short? It felt like forever for the princess of twilight. It felt like weeks since talking with him. Zeph dying, Link and Ilia kissing, Midna vowing never to return.

_"I'm going to visit, and I'm going to visit often." _ Was it her heart or her mind telling her that? Whatever one, it was using her own words against her. So she would go back, just wouldn't be seen by Link or Zelda. Her mind was set, yet she didn't know whether she was happy, excited, or dreading it.

**(Link's POV) **Ilia was outside his house when he woke up. He looked out the window to see her standing there, her hands on her hips.

"Link!" she called when she saw him.

Link went back inside- away from the window. "Excuuuuuuse me?!" Ilia's voice echoed through his house.

"Link! Come back! Can we at least talk?" Link groaned loud enough for Ilia to hear.

"Come on, Link! It's about yesterday! And not about the kiss, about the black squares!

"WHAT?!" came a boys voice from outside. Link cringed- it was Talo. Great. Just the thing he wanted. Being teased about it. He looked at the door of his house from his second floor that Ilia was about to barge through. He looked at the Triforce on his hand resembling his courage. He looked at everything, just wondering why he was here. He should be in the Twilight Realm, trying to explain what happened.

A loud crack erupted throughout the area. Link jumped down to the first floor, not bothering with the ladders. Ilia rushed inside.

"What was that?" she panted, out of breath.

"Sounded like gunshot, but I'm going to check it out," Link responded.

Ilia put a hand on Link's arm. "You'll get hurt!"

Link kept walking, and Ilia let go. Link flung open the door, and Ilia walked up to it. On the rebound, it smacked into Ilia's nose and there was a blood spot where it hit her.


	5. Two Faced?

**A.N= I worked pretty hard on this chapter, but I still think it's not too good… Maybe I'm so depressed with lack of reviews… SO REVIEW PEOPLE! =D**

**Ps- sorry I couldn't update sooner… FanFiction had some error problem. I couldn't even log on for crying out loud! So yeah… sorry!**

**(Midna's POV) **Midna got up from the bench. She looked at her people busily walking about. Central circle was much more busier these days. The Twili ran quickly to some unknown place as Midna stood there, none of them acknowledging her existence. It felt as though something was wrong, but when she looked around she found nothing out of place. It was a peaceful day in the Twilight Realm.

"It would make sense for it to be raining in Hyrule today," Midna reasoned. "It's karma. Since Link ruined my heart, peace reigned in the Twilight. So it should be raining."

Some people stared at Midna with confused expressions, wondering if their princess was mental for talking to herself. She walked over to the Mirror of Twilight and felt herself dissolving as it transported her back to the world of light.

****************************************************************************************************

It wasn't raining, but Midna couldn't tell if it was nice or not because there wasn't anything in Gerudo's Desert except sand. So she transported herself to Lake Hylia.

To Midna's dismay, it was a beautiful day in Hyrule too, perhaps prettier than the Twilight Realm. The skies were blue with only few clouds in sight, the trees were a dark green, and the birds chirped happily as they sat in their nests. The water gleamed against the reflection of the sun, and the waterfall leading from Zora's Domain made a calming sound as it crashed into the water below.

"Why did I have to be a descendant of evil people?!" Midna yelled to the sky.

Suddenly a lone gunshot rang out through the air. A long, nerve raising silence followed it. It felt a lot louder than regular silence, but nothing was heard. The water slowing crashing against the banks of the little islands didn't sound so appealing anymore.

Then something broke the silence. It was a louder bang and made Midna jump at least three feet. It didn't stop this time though- they continued.

Tranquility didn't exist in Hyrule anymore.

******************************************************************************************************

**(Link's POV) **The gunshots continued as Link ran to get his horse, Ilia trying to follow without blood splattering everywhere.

Link jumped on Epona from behind to get a running headstart, but she kept bucking and rearing because she was so spooked by the noises ringing out from Nayru knows where.

Link gave up trying to seize her and jumped off in the direction of Faron Woods.

"So I save the world one day, finally get to sleep in my own house, then I'm back out saving it the next," Link muttered.

He crossed the bridge, and when he got across it, it snapped in two. Link looked all around him and saw a cannon in the trees. All the weapons he had was what could fit into his pocket, and what he could carry on his back or belt loop. He had his sword and shield of course, his bow and about 60 arrows, his boomerang, the clawshots, and the Dominion Rod. All the rest were gone when Midna's helmet was crushed. The spinner, the ball and chain, bombs, all gone. Well, they might be on Hyrule Field somewhere, but there were no promises.

He took out his bow and aimed it at the man with the cannon. "Who are you?" Link called. The man was situated behind a tree on top of the hill, and did not respond.

"I have my arrows aimed at you! Now turn around and fight, or leave and prove to me the coward you are!"

To that, the man unsheathed his sword and jumped off the cliff in front of Link.

"No one calls me coward!" and swung his sword.

Link backflipped just in time for the man's sword to narrowly miss his feet. He put his bow on it's hook on his back and took out his shield and sword as well.

The man dropped his sword upon eye of Link's shield.

"I'm sorry! Please spare me, o Legendary Hero!" the man pleaded as he fell to his knees.

Link sheathed his sword and looked at his shield. The Triforce in the middle had given him away.

"Why do you fight?" Link demanded. "And who are you?"

"My name is Erik," the man began, "and I fight for Hyrule."

"Who are you against?"

"M-monsters…"

Monsters? Weren't the monsters all gone?

"Then why did you shoot at me?"

"I'm sorry, sire! It's just that I'm very nervous, and I tend to hit anything I see when I'm nervous…"

"Well, that bridge must be fixed. Hire someone or do it yourself, but I must get back there eventually," Link commanded.

"Yes, sire! Are you on your way to see Princess Zelda?" Link didn't know what he was going to do about all of this, but Zelda seemed like a good place to start.

"Yes, I am. Is she still in Castle Town?"

"No, actually. She is hidden. Her guards took her away to save her, but the princess did not want to leave. She wanted to talk to the princess of darkness, but the soldiers thought she was going insane."

_The princess of darkness is Midna. Does she know something about this? _Link decided to go back to the Twilight Realm to Midna. Hey, anything to see her again.

…**Little did he know that she had turned against him… **_(Dun dun dun dun…!) _

**(Midna's POV) **_I've GOT to get out of here! It sounds so loud… they could be right behind me! _Midna did a swift 180 and saw nothing, except trees and water. The more edgy she got, the more she was going to shred anyone that talked to her. But the princess decided to stick around. If Link died…

Midna imagined something killing Link… a knife, a sword, bomb, whatever it may be, she was going to kill the person who did it.

_What if he's already dead?! _Midna warped herself to Ordon Spring and dashed to Link's house. Ilia was standing there, and she was staring right at her.

"Who… who are you?" Ilia asked. Midna could tell she was trying to be brave, but it didn't work.

"I am a messenger for Princess Zelda," Midna lied, "and I need to find the Legendary Hero, Link."

Ilia looked at her. Not blankly, like she was dumb, but she was suspicious.

"You're lying to me," she stated.

"You're right, I am. Now tell me where Link is!" Midna pleaded.

"No!" Ilia yelled.

Midna came before her and smacked her hard on her cheek, and Ilia staggered back.

"Tell me, or I'll-"

"Okay! I'll tell you! Just… just don't hurt me!" Ilia begged.

Midna chuckled and remembered the first time she met Link as a wolf.

"You humans are obedient to a fault, huh?" Midna teased. That was the same thing she said to Link in Hyrule Castle's dungeon.

"You… you're Link's friend… aren't you?" Ilia asked.

Midna watched her warily.

"He… he wanted me to tell you something… When I was talking to Link on the ranch, he briefly told me about you. You were mysterious at first, but then you became such a close friend that he couldn't be without you. It wasn't that way with me, no matter how much I wanted it to. But… Link said that he…"

Ilia paused. If you added some dramatic music in here, it would make it so much more pathetic than it really was.

"Loved you."

Midna almost gasped. She almost felt her heart stop beating. She almost died, but she didn't want to admit that to herself.

The gunshots were still firing, and Midna got heated up all over again. The soft moment was gone, and she remembered Link.

"Where's Link?!" Midna demanded.

"I think… I think he went to see you…" Ilia stammered.

Midna dashed off in the other direction so Ilia wouldn't see her warp. Ilia probably knew that it was Midna spying on them, but she didn't want her to be reminded. Running back to Ordon Spring, she warped herself when her foot touched the water.

Arriving at Arbiter's Grounds, there was a team of soldiers there. They all aimed their guns at Midna, but some kept their cannons and such on the Mirror of Twilight.

"Wait! I'm not a bad person!" Midna screeched. "Don't shoot!"

They didn't move their weapons an inch. "You come from the opposite world!" one of the shouted. "And we're going to destroy the passage from the great kingdom of Hyrule to the banished world!" the soldier turned to the man with the cannon. "FIRE!"

In that moment, everything was ruined. Her friends and family, gone. Her most loyal subjects, gone. She couldn't get back to the kingdom she loved.

And worse, she was stuck here with blondie. Two blondies, to be exact…

Midna ran back towards the wall of the chamber. The dust and fog were so thick; it made it hard to breathe. Footsteps pounded towards her, and someone seized her arms.

Rage stormed through her, making her shake. She dug her nails into her flesh to keep from punching the man, but the fury rampaged on throughout her body, leaving a burnt trail as it went.

She couldn't take it any longer. It felt as though electricity raced through her, and the man let go of her with a yelp. Midna turned to see him staring at his hands, which were now turning purple.

"You!" he cried, glaring at Midna. "You did this! You possess evil magic!"

_I did that? I can create… electricity?!_

Bewildered, she did it again. She noticed a faint light blue color flowing towards her fingertips, and she poked her other arm.

Nothing happened.

_Maybe… Maybe I can only do it to other people?_

The dust cleared to give Midna some vision, and she noticed someone walking towards her.

Green clothes.

_LINK! Um, I mean… ugh. Link._

She couldn't stay mad with him for very long. She tried to imagine the broken mirror that she couldn't see, Zant, or Ilia to make her mad again.

"Midna!" Link yelled. "Midna I-"

"Save your breath," Midna muttered.

Link looked at her when he had reached her. Her gleaming red eyes were more narrowed than he had seen them before.

"Midna, you've got to listen to me! There's a war-"

"Shut _up!" _Midna didn't mean to shout, but she looked the other way to avoid Link's expression.

His voice became softer now. "Midna… please. I know you're hurt."

"_Hurt?!" _Midna cried, still not looking at him. "Why would I be hurt? I could clearly see that you love that girl, and I accept it. So why should I be hurt?!" She didn't decide to bring up the little conversation Ilia and she had before she had left.

"You can't have it both ways, Midna. I kiss you once, and you tell me off later. I kiss someone else, and you get pissed off."

_There's a difference between a peck on the cheek and a full-blown makeout, buddy. _

Midna grit her teeth. The dust hadn't cleared yet, and if the mirror was broken she was going to slug Link if he was still here.

"What are you thinking about?" Link asked casually.

_I'm thinking that if you don't leave, your nose won't be on your face anymore. _"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Just… answer."

"I'm thinking what life would be like if none of this wouldn't have happened," Midna lied.

"Then I wouldn't have met you," Link said coolly.

_But you'd still be able to see your nose. _

Midna didn't respond, and she was still looking away.

"Why don't you just leav-" Midna was interrupted by Link suddenly putting one arm around her waist and one arm behind her neck. He put his lips to hers, and held her more tightly.

Midna was taken aback. The fog was starting to clear, only to end up in her mind. She felt dizzy, but sucked in some air through her nose, which helped.

Then she felt angry. Midna squirmed against him until he finally pulled away.

For a split second, time froze. Midna looked over at the Mirror of Twilight to see it still intact, and when she realized she could move, she ran up the steps to the platform and up the invisible steps it displayed.

Link followed her, pink in the face. It was night time- time had flown. It was hard to see Midna against the black of night, but the mirror illuminated her body.

The mirror shined the light on Midna, and the team of soldiers scrambled over to her. Some drooled, but some turned their heads.

"Two-faced bastard," Midna said to Link as the mirror carried her away.


	6. The Twili

**AN- What does "No Flames" mean? Is it something like, "don't yell at me if my first three chapters are on the first page?" Sorry, I had to say that. Somebody was just being a critic and yelled at me cause of that. So I yelled at him back. =D **

**Anyway, this ones kinda short, but read and review anyway! YAY!**

**I don't own Zelda in general, but I did come up with the Twili people's names. Thanks mucho! XD **

**(Midna's POV) **A large group of teenagers awaited Midna and stood around her when she got inside. They had huge smiles on their faces and excited expressions.

"Did I miss something?" asked Midna irritated.

Their smiles didn't flinch at her tone; in fact, they smiled bigger.

"What?" Midna asked again, looking around.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They yelled.

Midna groaned internally. She knew it wasn't her birthday; it was just a practical joke.

_Someone's going to have to put them back in kindergarten… _

"Sorry, princess! We… we just wanted to ask you something, so we decided we'd suck up first," one of the teenagers said frankly. His friend smacked him on the arm while still smiling at Midna.

"Right now, the answer is no. But, what's the question?"

"Can we go to the light world?!" one of the girls asked.

"No."

The teenagers moaned and followed Midna to the palace.

"Why can't we?" they pressed.

Midna hesitated. Why _didn't _she want them going to Hyrule? If they caused havoc, they would just be killed by the Hyrulian soldiers. They weren't very bright kids either, and they didn't know how to use Hyrulian weaponry.

"There are some things in that world that are too horrible for your young eyes," Midna reasoned.

"You just saved it though!" they shot back.

Midna stopped and turned around to face them.

"Why do you want to go to the world of light?" the Twilight Princess asked the Twili.

"We want to meet your boyfriend!!" the girl yelled excitedly.

_Link?! My… my boyfriend?! _Midna didn't know if she took satisfaction in that, or was entirely repulsed.

"I have no boyfriend," Midna murmured darkly.

"We want to see the Princess of light!"

"She's busy rebuilding Castle Town and Hyrule Castle."

"We want to see the land you love…" one of the shy people whispered. Midna heard it like she was yelling.

"Fine."

The teenagers cheered and started running for the Mirror of Twilight, but Midna put her hand up and used Twilight Magic to hold them back without hurting them.

"Not today. Maybe tomorrow. If not, next week. And you have to go one at a time."

They all groaned again, and some mumbled swear words and things Midna didn't want to hear.

There were some whispering about escaping during the night, but Midna went over to the Mirror of Twilight and put a protective bubble around the spot.

"No one can get in," Midna began, "and no one can get out. And that's that!"

Midna marched back up to her palace and lied down in her bed. There was a lot of loud hissing and whispering going on outside her door, making her believe the teenagers were inside the palace. But soon she tuned it out, and let herself drift off to sleep.

**Later that night…**

**(Some random teenager's POV) **"Come on! Ramel, hurry up!" Ely yelled to me. She was one of my best friends that were girls, and only she knew the jinx to unlock the protective bubble around the Mirror of Twilight. I was one of the slow ones, but it didn't seem to bother me.

Me and about twenty other kids who were brave enough to sneak out were about to see the light world Princess Midna loved.

Ely put her hands out, making a giant U. She made an 'L' and a backwards 'L' with her forefingers and thumbs and aimed it at the bubble.

"Ya!" she yelled. A blue and black magic spurted out of her hands. We all looked around to make sure no one was coming to see what was happening, but all was silent in the Twilight Realm.

"Alright. We have to go one at a time, but we have to go super quick. The protection bubble is a strong one, and will appear again after about ten minutes. No slow-pokes! Okay, Lenzy, you go first."

It was like this for a long time, Ely calling out names. She was the oldest of all of us, and we all trusted her.

There was about thirty seconds left. Ely and I were the only ones remaining.

"Go, Ely!" I whispered. "Before time runs out!" Wasn't it polite to let the girl go first?

"Ramel, thanks, but you go." She shoved me onto the platform, and before I could say anything, the bubble came out, and I dissolved into the world of light.

**(Link's POV) **"Are… you… _kidding_ me?!" Link mumbled. There was still the strange war going on around here, and he still didn't find the place of it. He started home again. When he crossed the bridge that led from Arbiter's Grounds to Hyrule Field, he called Epona. They took a little stroll through the area for awhile.

A few hours later, Link heard screams. They weren't screams of terror, but screams of children, just, playing. Playing in a war zone?

Following the sound of the laughter, he and Epona cantered to the children.

In Lanayru Province, he found children playing tag. It was hard to see who they were against the darkness. He didn't want these kids to be shot or anything, so he hurried over to them on Epona.

"Who are you guys, and why aren't you in your hous-" Link broke off when he got to them. They… they looked like the Twili.

"Are you Link?!" one of the girls asked excitedly.

"Yes… and who are you…?

"OMIGOSH!" They all yelled.

"Princess Midna wants you back!"

"She forgives you!"

They all yelled more, but Link only picked out one.

"Princess Midna loves you."

He knew these children were the Twili now. One of the kids stepped forward.

"I'm Shaiya!" one of the girls exclaimed. "I'm Princess Midna's cousin!"

"No you're not!" another girl shot back.

"Shut up, Aeria!"

One of the boys rolled his eyes and stepped up to Link. "Hey, I'm Ramel. We were just curious about the light world. We'll leave if you want us too."

"Ramel, remember the bubble? We can't get back unless Princess Midna takes off the protective force."

"Oh yeah- and she'll be pretty pissed when she finds out we're gone. Which will make her take off the bubble and come see you!" Ramel concluded.

_These kids seem pretty focused on getting me and Midna together. Of course, Midna would hate that, according to the episode she had when I kissed her._

"You kissed her?!" Shaiya yelled.

Oh god. "Uh, how did you…?"

"I can read minds. Was it great?! Did it go well?! Tell me _everything!_"

Treading close to personal ground, here. Link's memory of it hardened. He didn't even have to say anything.

"Oh," Shaiya mumbled glumly. "I'm… We're sorry…"

"What happened, Shaiya?!" the kids asked, swarming around her.

"It didn-"

The next moment happened so fast that in Link's memory, it was all a blur. Monsters attacked the Twili children and transformed them. Their gut-wrenching screams rang out that Link bet even Midna could hear them. So this was the monsters that one guy was talking about…

But Link couldn't hurt them! They were Midna's people! So how was he to defend himself?!

"Kill…" the monster that appeared to be in charge whispered to the new monsters. They staggered forward towards Link and surrounded him. Everywhere he turned he would see bulky creatures with glowing red eyes.

"Kill…" the monster whispered again, in that same chilling tone. Link's heart pounded, his adrenalin raced. He whipped out his sword and shield, trying to put on the most bravest look he had. He didn't feel his Triforce of Courage working very well.

For the last time, the monster whispered "Kill…" again, and Link felt as though his heart had been ripped out, literally. He let a scream escape as the monster children tried to rip him in half. Unwillingly, his eyes flickered closed and he fell into the depths of unconsciousness.


	7. If Only She Had Listened

**I FEEL SO LOVED!**

**I received one email that asked how this story was going, and it inspired me to update. **

**Twilight Commando, you rock. **

**(Midna's POV) **_Ugh, time to go deal with those teenagers, _Midna thought. She forced herself out of bed and trudged over to her bathroom. She splashed water on her face and tried to pull a brush through her flaming hair.

_I wonder how Link is faring on his own. _

Then she stared at herself and splashed more water on her face.

_Well, if he's doing well, I can fix that. _

She nodded to herself. Why should she like Link? That son of a female dog kissed her. No one kisses her. She didn't like anything more intimate than a hug. Even hugs were treading close to the personal space boundary line.

Whatever. She walked down the stairs and out of the palace. They had finally managed to get the black twilight magic that was falling in front of the entrance out of the way and build a bridge between the gap. They were currently working on the left part of the palace, which was causing quite a racket. So Midna didn't hear one of the parents of the teenagers calling her name.

"Princess Midna!" the parent yelled, running up to her. She was bent at her knees, panting.

"What can I help you with, Miss?" Midna asked the woman, putting a hand on her shoulder helping her stand up.

"My daughter, she is gone!"

"Gone? That's strange. Do you remember where you last saw her?"

"This isn't a _toy, _we're talking about!"

"I know, Miss. But did you drop her off at a friend's house—"

"Well, she told me she was going out with a group of friends and that she'd be back late. But, she isn't back yet."

"Wait, how old is your daughter?" Midna asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Fifteen, why?"

Midna straightened up and hurried to the portal to Hyrule. The teenagers couldn't have gotten past this, could they?

Then it hit her—Ely. The girl who excelled in magic. She must have gone with them!

She crossed her arms so they made an 'X' and felt the magic building in her fingertips. When it was ready to release, she shot it at the dome.

It melted immediately on contact and she walked into the circle.

The portal to the light world had five rings. The first one was spinning clockwise, the second counterclockwise, the third clockwise and so on. **(Tell me if I'm wrong!)** In the middle was the Triforce inside a circle, but it wasn't rotating. It was very pretty, and Midna used to stare at it all day. But then Zant broke it.

She took a deep breath, trying not to get too angered again over Zant. He's dead, nothing to worry about.

The Mirror of Twilight transported Midna once again to the world of light.

It was dark. So looking for shadows would be hard. They can't stay solid in light, can they? They don't have light within them. Zelda gave her light so Midna would live, and then she could be solid. Then Zelda disappeared.

Anyway, she warped herself to Lake Hylia.

It was such a beautiful place, and it was probably her favorite place in Hyrule. Especially when guns aren't firing or anything. They weren't right now, and the water calmly splashed up against the banks of the islands. The waterfall was once again powerfully running, yet still had a gentle tone to it.

What would happen if she tried to under the water? Would she just die on contact, like monsters of twilight did? She and Link laughed hard when the monsters just collapsed when they couldn't swim. He would purposefully lead them into the water just to see them collapse.

Midna smiled at the memory, and decided she wouldn't bet the risk.

And to Midna's despair, she remembered she had Twili to find. Stupid Twili, if she may add.

Sighing, she looked around. No sign of shadows here. Well, living shadows. Anything that moves a lot, Midna notices it.

Put it this way, if a tree looks like it's trunk is doing a backbend, the Twili are there.

Midna shrugged and dissolved into the portal overhead and landed on the Bridge of Eldin. Even this bridge had memories. When she and Link had found it on top of a sand mountain, Link thought it was a giant bar of white chocolate. Then with a closer look, it was the bridge.

_A giant bar of white chocolate._ Imagine it- the Chosen Hero thinking a bridge is a dessert. She chuckled and looked around. None on the bridge. She walked towards Hyrule Field. She walked to the middle and looked around. Nothing moving. She warped herself back to the Bridge of Eldin again. Hey, she was too lazy to walk. Give her some credit. Midna wasn't into this whole 'looking around' thing.

Whatever. She went up the East Mountains, turning herself into a shadow so the monsters wouldn't see her. Why there were monsters here, she didn't know. But she'd rather not be hit with a fire arrow right now.

No sign of the Twili anywhere. Annoyed, she warped herself away just in time for a monster to spot her.

Landing gracefully before the entrance to East Castle Town, she looked around. _Why _did she have to do this? Oh yeah—because no one listens to her. If those stupid teenagers had just listened, they would have been able to play videogames at their house instead of doing community labor.

_No one was here. _Ugh!

Where to now? She still had all of Snowpeak to search, the rest of Eldin and Lanayru Province, the entire Faron and Ordon Province, and some of the Desert Province.

So basically, all of Hyrule. WHY?!

Midna decided to start with Lanayru. She'd been south, so she walked north.

It can be very frustrating when you know something's here, and you can't see it. The 'right under your nose' kinda thing. That it's so obvious, you wouldn't notice it.

So that means they're in the middle of a field. Duh. She knew these kids- they would be playing in the middle of a field. So she decided to go to the west portion of the mountains.

Walking due north, she turned herself into a shadow so she wouldn't be seen. There were monsters here too! Weren't these supposed to be gone when she and Link, or should she say Zelda and Link, defeated Ganondorf?

Getting closer to the field, she saw some shadow beasts packed together around something. Like they were in a football huddle. But they were definitely circled around something. Maybe they were fighting for food or something.

…Wait a minute, these beasts didn't look normal. Like… they were younger.

_…Younger._

These were the Twili!!

But, how could they?!

She stuck to the wall of the landforms, trying to get a better look of the item they were circling. They may be the Twili teenagers, but their minds were currently possessed with the bloodlust and the desire to kill and made them stronger.

All the good kids she would never suspect would do such a thing were right there in front of her; ready to go in for the kill.

A sudden flash of green caught her eye when she saw in between two beast's shoulders. Her heart pounded, her eyes flew open, almost out of her sockets. Was that…?!

No, it must have been the grass she saw.

Relaxing, she took deep breaths. One beast stopped circling and went for the thing's limb.

With horror, she saw the beast spit out the skin and flesh from it's teeth. A terrible, ear piercing scream filled the area.

She had heard that scream before. Right before he was about to die, but Midna gave him a fairy.

But no sparkly pink ball of fluff popped out of his pockets. It was the real deal.

And that was Link.


	8. Lanayru Spring Water

**By the way…**

**In the last chapter, it said "East Mountains" and "west portion of the mountains."**

**It's supposed to be **_**"West Mountains" and "east portion of the mountains."**_

**Sorry, I'm really lazy to go change it. =D**

No… It couldn't have been Link. She must have been hallucinating! But how could Midna think about Link so much that she thought she heard him scream?

Nevertheless, she should see who it is they're ripping apart and shredding to pieces. Well, they haven't yet, but Midna was pretty sure it would happen.

Staying in a shadow, she crept towards to pile, and snuck beneath the beasts.

With dirty blond hair and a ripped tunic around the ankles, she saw him lie there, unmoving. His chest was barely rising with every breath he took, if he took any.

_No, this can't be real! My mind is torturing me!_

There was a missing piece of skin over his right leg, and it was bleeding at an alarming rate.

That's it, she knew she wasn't dreaming. And she should have believed Link when he said there was a war. And she should have listened to his plea for help. If she had, none of this would have happened.

Midna clenched her hands into fists, preparing magic. It was ready in a matter of seconds, but she didn't release it. She felt the magic tear open her flesh and she felt warm blood trickle down her fingers.

Still having the magic ready, she stood up and released it, and she hovered over Link to protect him.

"Link…" she managed between gasps. "I'm… sorry…"

No response. Not even a flinch to the sound of his name. He was deep in the depths of unconsciousness.

The shadow beasts that were the teenagers were repelled at the magic and were flown back. Then Midna gathered Link's lifeless body in her arms and warped herself to the East Castle Town entrance. Not bothering to turn them into shadows, she hurried inside and darted past the stunned crowds of people, and shot menacing glances at anyone who decided to stop her. Only one person could cure him.

She practically flew up the ramp to the castle. The guards put a hand out to stop her but when they saw the man in her arms, they decided not to.

"I must see Princess Zelda!"

"Umm…"

Clenching her hands until blood again rushed out of them, she listened anxiously to the guards.

"The soldiers of Hyrule have escorted her to somewhere safe. But can we—"

"Where is she!" Midna demanded.

"That is classified information, therefore I cannot—"

"You. Better. Tell. Me."

Dark magic Midna didn't recognize boiled within her. She brushed past the guards, and they yelped and jumped back.

"She possesses the power of electricity!" one shouted.

"We need her to run our refrigerators!" the other yelled.

Ignoring them, she ran inside the castle. These loons wouldn't know where to take Zelda except the prison she was locked in before, and Midna knew exactly where it was.

Darting inside the huge castle doors, she noted that everything had been fixed. At least she wouldn't have to go rummaging though Link's pockets for the clawshots.

She ran up the stairs and took the third left. **(Hey, I'm just guessing where it was. It's probably wrong.) **From there, she went straight, and turned left, and another left.

Again, the floor was fixed. So she ran up the fixed stairs and then went straight. **(This part isn't true, I know it.) **It was the tower. Finally. She went up the spiral staircase, and frantically pushed open the door.

**(Link's POV) **It felt as though he were floating. Nothing really hurt, but he knew what hope was left for him is frail and dying. He could hear some soft words, and it felt reassuring.

"I'm sorry…" the voice continued.

Link felt a pang of remembrance in those words of the voice. It seemed to come up out of no where and smack him in the face. The voice kept talking to him, calming him. Link knew that he should be up and fighting, to cling to whatever life he had. Yet Link had never had a relaxing day in his life. Well, not after the light spirit told him he had to save Hyrule. Like, no pressure.

Link's natural instinct was to whip out his sword and make and ending blow. But here in the arms of heaven, he decided to relax for once. It was hard, just feeling vulnerable, and yet it felt strangely… good.

Then the goodness was gone when he felt hard, cold stone. And the searing pain begins…

**(Midna's POV) **_Ack!_

Midna tripped over her own foot from running too fast. Link toppled out of her arms and landed on his back. Zelda whirled around at the noise, and her eyes shot open.

The Princess of Destiny was a very pretty girl. She was tall and lean, and had strawberry blond to dirty blond hair. Two parts of her hair in front were strung with a piece of thread winding down. There was a braid in the back that started just below her shoulders. Zelda had a clip in the back tying her hair together. She wears a crown of a sort, but not the typical one. It is a gold band that covers her forhead, and has spikes with a sapphire in the middle.

"Midna, what are you… Link!" Zelda stammered.

"He needs help! The shadow beasts—"

"Shadow beasts? But they are supposed to be slayed…"

"That's what I thought, but enough of this chatter! We need to help Link!"

"Yes, yes of course. We need a doctor!"

Zelda dashed over to a console hanging on the wall. She picked it up and pushed some buttons on it.

Because it was a new installation, there were some kinks to be worked out. No one responded for a while. As each moment passed, Midna felt herself becoming more and more twitchy. Here was a man whom she... cared about, and had almost bled to death. Help wouldn't come in time.

Then Midna must have heard an Angel's choir, because Zelda started talking.

"There is a man who needs help, stat! …A terrible wound in his right leg. The skin was peeled off of him, and he is going pale. …Thank you, and do hurry!"

Zelda put it down and tore off her gloves. She ripped them to shreds and put it over the wound. Blood soaked through the white silk and soon Zelda had red on her palms.

Looking around, Midna found a towel hanging on a rack. It was also made out of expensive material, but it was either lose a towel or lose a life.

Midna never knew how much Link meant to her. If it wasn't for Link, the twilight would have devoured the world, Zant and Ganondorf would treat everyone as slaves, and Zelda could have possibly been dead. But… Link stopped it. Link saved Hyrule.

Link had saved her.

And now it was time for Midna to stop being stuck up and save him. Midna realizes that without Link, she would be dead. She gets it now.

Now if only she had listened…

Footsteps pounded up the steps. Midna immediately readied some magic.

The door bust open, and in walked a guy in a white suit. "I'm here! So, where's the patient?"

Midna looked at the doctor, still having the magic ready. Then Zelda put a hand on her arm, and Midna let the magic away.

"Can you not see the bleeding man collapsed on the ground?!" she yelled at him.

"Um, I do not—_oh my god!"_ The doctor looked down and whipped out a needle and thread. Zelda watched, but Midna looked away.

Instead, she stared at the red warmth running down her arm from where Zelda had touched her. Link's blood was trickling down it, mocking her. It was probably the last thing of Link she would ever see. She didn't really care that the last thing was Link's flesh. She let the blood roll down to her palm, and she rubbed her fingers in it.

_Okay, now you're becoming obsessed. Snap out of it! _Midna commanded herself. She wiped the blood on the floor, and some tiny pebbles stuck to her skin. She picked them off and looked at Link.

Midna didn't want to know how, but somehow there was skin back on the wound. It looked like it was messily placed there, and she shuddered. The thought was so repulsing.

Five minutes later, Link's wound was replaced by thread holding the new and old skin together. But he still didn't wake up.

"Is… is he going to be okay?" Midna asked quietly.

The doctor glanced at her oddly. He didn't respond and turned to Zelda.

"Your man might be better, he might not." _Your _man? "It's possible he may die. Extremely possible."

"I'm sorry, but did you say he was my husband?" Zelda asked.

"Well, he's not going to be its husband," the doctor muttered. "Now, for my pay. I'm thinking—"

_Did he just call me an… 'it'? _Midna thought.

"Get out," Zelda commanded.

"Pardon me?"

_"Get out," _she said, more firm.

"Uh, well, you see, I don't do this stuff for free…"

Midna didn't care what Zelda would say. She builded up electricity within her palms, then shot it at the doctor. He flew back against the wall and then slid down it slowly.

"You'll be going now," she told her, clenching her fists. Her knuckles turned white.

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Midna continued to glare after the stupid man until he left. Then she rushed over to Link.

"Link… Please wake up! Oh Link… I'm so sorry…"

"Midna, there is no use. He will wake up on his own accord," Zelda tried to comfort her. She put a hand on her shoulder, but Midna shrugged her off violently.

"What if he doesn't wake up? What if he lies here for the rest of eternity?!" Midna shot back.

Zelda was taken aback by Midna's outburst and stepped back. "He will wake up. The bleeding has stopped. His body will regenerate the blood he lost."

Midna felt Link's neck. It was cold, and there was no pulse. She pushed lightly on Link's stomach, uncertain of how to get it starting again.

"His heart isn't beating!" Midna shrieked. "He's _dying!" _

"Then what are we doing here? We must go to a spring!" Zelda cried.

"Which one?"

"We must put him in one that will cover him fully. So… to Lanayru Spring of Lake Hylia!"

Midna nodded, then took Link into her arms. Zelda grasped Midna's arm, and she warped them all to Lake Hylia.

They dashed over the bridge, ignoring Fyer asking them if they wanted a ride to the Watertop Land of Fantastication. **(Um, is that right? I can't find out from YouTube.)**

"Why is that cross-dresser waving at us…?" Zelda wondered aloud.

"This isn't the time to be thinking about him!"

They ran into Lanayru's Spring and Zelda nodded to Midna.

"Are you sure—"

"Midna, Link's time is running short. It is either now or never."

She took a deep breath and stepped up to the platform.

This spot had memories too. Well, nightmares are more like it. Right after the Lakebed Temple, Zant had appeared. Needless to say he hurt her, and suddenly she was limp on Link's wolf-form back, gasping for breath.

She took a deep breath and let Link roll out of her arms and into the waters of the spring.


	9. Light vs Shadow

Link gracefully dropped into the water below. Lanayru rose out of the water and looked at him, then fell back into it.

"What do we do? He's going to drown!" Midna said frantically.

"Lanayru will take care of him, Midna. Come now, time is of the essence."

"For what?"

"Hyrule. I know you may not want to be here, but there is a war. Some of the citizens of the Twilight Realm have transformed into shadow beasts. Bublins are roaming the fields, terrorizing Castle Town and travelers."

"Well, the only way to turn them back into Twili is with the power of the Sols, which is locked away in the palace."

"Are you quite sure that is the real one, Midna? I do remember Link telling me he used the Sols to defeat Zant. They were stored in the Master Sword."

"Are you telling me that I don't know what has happened in my own kingdom, Zelda?" Midna asked her, snidely.

"I am sorry, but the Sols are still in the Master Sword, if my memory is correct."

"Well you can go…" Midna trailed off when she realized what she was saying. "Forgive me, princess. I am just so afraid for Link's life. If I had just gone with him, this would never have happened."

"Actually, if you trace back time, I am at fault."

"What are you saying?" Midna asked her, appaled.

"When I had first met Zant, I surrendered. If we had fought, this might never have happened."

"No, princess, you saw how powerful he was. Take no offence, but your guys don't stand a chance against the power of the Twili."

"I am trying exceedingly hard to take none. Yet I must say that Hyrule is a very powerful place. In other kingdoms around the world, people admire Hyrule's ability to fend for itself."

"Yes, because princesses who are forced to remain in a tower are very strong," Midna muttered, clenching and unclenching her hands.

"And ones that are turned to imps as well," Zelda reminded her with a warm smile.

That was it. Midna raised her fist to hit her, then stopped herself and warped to Arbiter's Grounds. How _dare _she say that to her? She stormed up the steps to the Twilight Realm and let it take her in.

She undid the bubble that concealed the entrance to the light world and took stock of the Twili population. It looked a lot less… full now. Mothers were sitting in front of the Palace of Twilight, mourning the loss of their children. They must already know what has become of them.

She walked quietly up to the palace. People looked at her hopefully, and Midna sadly shook her head no. One of the parents started bawling, and Midna gave her a big hug. The mother cried into Midna's shoulder, making it wet.

Midna felt bad about it, but she wasn't really paying attention. She kept her mind on Zelda and Link.

She really thought that Zelda wanted Link. But personally, Midna didn't think they belonged together. It just doesn't… seem right. **(AN- Yes, I'm not a big ZeLink fan, and no, I don't think they belong together. But since this fanfic is a MIDNAxLINK fanfic, Midna agrees with me.) **They're not in the same class either. Yes, Link could marry her and then he would be King… but she just doesn't think they belong together.

And no, Midna didn't want to convince herself that Link and her belonged together. Midna is of a different _world _entirely. Her skin is different; her eyes are a sinister red. But she didn't think herself a cruel, ruthless person. Not unless she literally had to be.

Then she thought about when she saw Link lying there, and how she had thrown people of her own kind back to save him. These people were the children of her people; she had to protect them. It was the law.

And yet she broke a law to save someone. Midna shrugged internally; she could break something to save someone.

Midna reviewed what she had done. She snuck up in a shadow form, took one look at Link's leg and then repelled all of the teenagers from him.

But _what _kind of sorcery did she use? She didn't remember. Midna didn't… _kill _them, did she?

No, it must have been just some jinx that Midna couldn't remember the name to. It began with a 'V'... Vor... Vor something.

The mother stopped crying, nodded into Midna's shoulder, and sat up. "You won't stop looking for my son, will you?" she asked her.

"Of course not. Forgive me, but what was your son's name?"

"Jonah."

"Yes, of course. Thank you, and please remember that we will find him."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Midna walked into her palace and into her throne room. She sat there unmoving, just thinking and reviewing the day.

1) Finding Link and freaking out

2) Rushing him to Zelda- having a tendency to do that often

3) Waiting in agonizing pain over Link for the unobservant doctor,

4) Almost about to knock Zelda out, and

5) Warping self to the Twilight Realm.

Midna started to think about when she came here. It usually wasn't on her own free will. Well, it was, but it was because she wanted to get away from something. From personal desires, annoying teenagers, snide princesses, you name it. But she never came here out of boredom. Never just to check on what's happening. Just... an escape. An escape from reality.

_"For the sake of humanity and our world, both worlds must live in peace! I must make sure their world is prospering, in order for ours to as well." _

Midna had said that to the Twili right before she left for the world of light.

Right before Link had kissed her. On the cheek, but it still counts.

_Link had kissed her. _At that moment, it clicked. She felt like those philosophers who understand the world. Link didn't do that just so she'd stay in Hyrule.

He did it... he did it because he wanted to.

Midna smiled, the first time in ages. The Twilight Realm was just an escape for her, and she knew it. She felt like a coward.

And more importantly, there was a war out there that needed to be won.

"Princess! Princess! A vote has taken place- the people have a letter for you!" A man rushed in through the double doors, waving a paper in his hand.

"Well, what is it about?"

"It is concerning the war between Light and Shadow."

A war... between Light and Shadow? Didn't this already happen? "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that war is already over and done with," Midna said, confusion written all over her face.

"Okay, then the second one."

"What second one?"

"The one that the people want."

Uh-oh, this is going to be bad.

Your Majesty,

The Twili of the Twilight Realm have decided to declare war on Hyrule. They have kidnapped our children, and we want them back. They also banished us from where all species of life were created. We did not do anything wrong, our ancestors did. They will not let us out of this enchanted world, no matter what we say. Lastly, if you do not accept this letter, the people of the Twilight Realm will disobey your orders and set fire to Hyrule Castle anyway. We only wrote this letter to let you know.

Thank you for your time.

The Twili.

"They cannot do this! Order them to avoid attack!" Midna yelled at the man.

"Um, well, princess..." he pointed to the window above him, which overlooked the Mirror of Twilight. Twili were filing out of it, one by one. Midna clasped the arms of the chair to keep from shooting magic out the window at them. Instead, she ran down the stairs and through the double doors. Then she ran down the hall, hearing the patting of her feet against the floor and ignoring the confused looks and shoved by them if they didn't move out of her way.

Midna caught the elevator and resisted every urge to jump off of it. She finally got off when it was close enough to the ground to jump off of. Then she followed the path, weaving in and out of crowds. She had run right through a press conferance, and camera flashes were going off as she ran. Finally she got to the entrance of the palace. She soon realized they weren't filing out of the Twilight Realm, they were coming in. And something bright was being carried on top of them.

"Let go of me! Let go! I can call the light- AAAAAACK!"

The scream was familiar. It was feminine, and she squinted her eyes to get a better look of her. Midna then realized she could just run to her, so she did.

"What is going on here?!" Midna asked the Twili. They were so startled to see her that they dropped the cargo they were carrying.

"Wah! Oof!" the girl cried as she hit the ground.

"Princess Midna! I... We..." one of the guards stuttered.

"Midna?!" the girl on the ground asked, completely bewildered.

"Zelda!" Midna yelled, then turned to the Twili. "What have you done? You back off her!"

They nodded, then scurried away, back into their houses. "Zelda! I'm so sorry! I don't know what-"

"I should have expected something like this would be done of your people! Those filthy, no-good, meaningless _shadows!" _

Midna stood there, stunned. "Zelda, I didn't know they were-"

"Just let me out of here. It is becoming very difficult to remain friends with you, Midna. Kidnapping the princess of Hyrule... quite original, I must say. I could have you arrested for this! You could be _hanged _for this!"

"Zelda, I did not organize-"

"Midna, I will have no tolerance for your mindlessness. If you cannot control your country, step down to someone who can."

Zelda walked up to the portal, and transferred herself back into the light, with Midna staring after her.

_Could this be the end of the Twilight Realm?_


	10. Weird Spell Names

**To **_**Starll**__: _Midna tried to tell her that she didn't do it, but she was still recovering from the shock that Zelda said that to her that she couldn't finish her sentence.

**To **_**Twilight Commando **_**for Chapter 8**_**: **_See, Link _didn't _have a fairy. No potions, no bee larva or any of that whatnot that gives you life.

_________________________________________________________________

Midna continued to stare dumbfounded at the Mirror of Twilight. _How _did the Twili find Zelda? She turned around to see a bunch of sheepish looking people avoiding her eyes.

"Why?!" Midna bellowed to the crowd, making sure everyone heard her. "The princess of Hyrule. What were you thinking?!"

She looked at everyone, who kept their heads down.

"Why did you do this?"

No response.

"I can keep you standing here all night without sleep until I receive an answer!"

Some mumbling took place, and Midna wasn't sure if that was just moaning or that they just didn't feel like saying their answer to her out loud.

No one told her an answer straight, so Midna closed her eyes and counted to ten. Whoever said that counting to ten would calm you down, they're nuts. All it did was give her ten different punishments suitable for this. She opened them again and stared at her people.

"I cannot believe these are the same people I saw when I was cursed. Those people had hope and strength. Where are they? Are the people standing before me still the same?"

Unsurprisingly, there was no answer.

"You broke the allegiance between Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. If a war is what you want, a war is what you'll get, but I will take no part in it. If you want to go fight the Hylians and basically commit suicide, fine."

Some people looked excited, but Midna put on her best menacing, death glare. "If you are going to fight them, get out of my presence. Shame thee."

Midna didn't know why she started talking so formally, but it worked. The Twili who looked excited let their faces fall. Some hunched their shoulders and hid their faces behind their hair.

"Go back to your houses and hope we won't all be killed."

Slowly but surely, the Twili walked their way back to their houses. Midna felt like she was going to scream, and just wished she was a little kid again so she could. Then Midna could pound the walls and kick and scream and throw a temper tantrum. Of course, she wouldn't have to deal with stubborn, disobedient people. Not that she wanted to.

How will the Hylians take this? Will they be stubborn, disobedient people as well? And what did Zelda mean by what she said? If you can't handle your country, leave it to someone who can. Was Zelda so cocky that she thinks she could run two countries at the same time?

Questions swirled around in her mind, and Midna longed only for someone to hug her- for someone to lean on. She sprinted back to her palace, threw herself onto her bed and cried her heart out into a pillow so people wouldn't hear.

___________________________________________________________

During her crying, Midna fell asleep. She felt more tired now than when she fell asleep, and Midna yawned and stretched. She cracked her neck and her back, knowing that it was horrible for her, but didn't care.

She went to her favorite mirror hanging on the wall- a replica of the Mirror of Twilight. She gazed into it and looked at herself.

Midna saw the same girl she always did when she looked into this mirror, but something about her was different. When she had looked into the mirror a while ago, she saw Midna. Midna, the princess of Twilight. Same old, same old. Then she looked into it and she saw a hideous, gangly imp. Now she looks at it and she sees Midna, the princess of Twilight. Yet this Midna seems to have more experience, has grown wiser. She thought about all of the days, weeks, months she spent with Link in the light world, and thought about how that had changed her forever.

She had strangely developed… something. New emotions, yet Midna couldn't name it. Her heart wished to see something, but what was it? Was it just her imagination? Or was the pain in her heart real?

She thought hard, shutting her eyes tight.

_What do I want?_

Midna had it on the tip of her tongue, but a quiet knock came on the door. Midna almost snarled at the man who came in for disrupting her thinking, but she restrained herself.

"I have good news and bad news," the man replied with a very depressing tone. Midna almost groaned.

"The bad news…?"

"Some Twili went to fight the Hylians…" Midna's eyes narrowed, and the man gulped, "and found some of the Twili teens."

"This… this is the bad news…?" Midna croaked.

"Yes. They reported that there… there was no… pulse…" The man wiped his arm across his eyes. Clearly his child was one of those teenagers.

"They were… dead."

"Yes," the man squeaked.

Midna felt her heart squeeze tightly. She kept it to herself, but she knew she did it. "Oh… um… yes. Thank… you. Dismissed."

The guard nodded and walked out the door, sniffling.

Midna killed them. She killed them all, and didn't mean to. Midna rushed to her old and tattered spell book sitting on her bookshelf. She opened it and dust rose out of the pages. She flipped to the 'V' section, then found the 'Vo', then the 'Vor.'

She found three different ones.

Vortation (Vor-tay-shun)- Cleaning spell. Sends out vortex-like waves and puts everything back into place.

Vormacia Bindayo (Vor-may-she-uh Bind-ay-yo)- Love spell. Sends out vortex-like waves and makes people fall in love with the first person they see. Note- only works with people who are inside the waves at the time.

Vorvagia (Vor-vah-she-ah) Killing curse. Kills all that is around the user, except the closet thing to the person. Warning- can get out of hand. May destroy everything in its path- including landforms and bodies of water. Can only protect one thing.

_I… I killed them… I killed them all. Twenty lives lost on one night… and it's all my fault!_

Midna didn't care anymore. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. No one bothered to walk in and comfort her, and it didn't matter anymore that the guard never told Midna the good news. Nothing could possibly be good enough to get rid of this pain.

She had never experienced _this _kind of pure torture. She went through humiliation, deportation, and all of those things with long suffixes. She also went through betrayal, and feeling like a teenager herself- getting her first kiss.

No, not even a kiss could make Midna feel rid of all the guilt. Midna now had her secret, and she knew she would never share it with anyone. Not unless she wanted to be hanged. No, she didn't feel like dying tonight.

With dark humor, she smiled to herself, and sat upright. Her pillow was soaked from her tears, and Midna blushed a little when a man walked in and saw her pillow.

"I am sorry, the other guard did not tell you any good news, did he?"

Midna swallowed silently. "No, he did not."

"Well, you need to come downstairs. There is something waiting for you," the guard smirked to her.

"May you tell me what it is?"

"I have been sworn to secrecy, and I do not break promises."

Midna nodded, feeling ashamed of herself. She followed the guard down the stairs, with great suspicion, especially when they asked her to put a blind fold on.

"No way. I refuse to put this on," Midna said severely.

The guards surrounding her didn't even look surprised. They just nodded and continued walking.

The guards were so tall Midna couldn't see between them- just the back and side of their chests. She felt so stupid- like a child. Oh, the irony.

They finally reached the bottom of the steps. And even when Midna was on a higher step than they, they were still taller than her.

"With great honor and pleasure, we give you the Princess of Twilight, Princess Midna." The two guards in front of her parted, and Midna glared at everyone who met her eye. This was not feeling fun for her.

Then her eyes flew open when she saw a man standing in the left corner of the room. He...

Link!

Link smiled sheepishly when he met her eye, and Midna felt like running over to him. Link! He's better! Midna's eyes glazed over his flesh wound, and she could barely make out the outlines of where it was. It looked fine; that spring water was pretty good stuff!

Then Midna thought back to before- how Midna saved him and killed the others. Why should Midna be happy?! She saved one man and killed twenty others! How horrible! It was treason!

With narrowed eyes, she shook her head. "Get out of my palace," Midna sneered, then walked back up the stairs- feeling eyes boring holes into her.


	11. A Click in the Mind

_**It's the chapter everyone, including me, has been waiting for! Midna finally realizes… well, read and find out!!!!**_

Midna threw herself on her bed again, and it wasn't long after that the door was pushed open violently.

"Okay, Midna, what's up," Link said, frustration written on his face.

Midna didn't even flinch. "One, it's personal, and two, we're at war with you. So get out before I call the guards to have you hanged."

Both Link and Midna were taken aback at what she said. Link became a sad sort of confused. "At war? What do you mean?"

"The Twili wanted a war, so I let them do it."

"But what about you?"

"That isn't any of your business!"

Link continued to stare at her, expecting an answer. Midna stared back, but lost the competition and looked at her bare feet.

_Should I tell him? _Midna wondered this for a while. Should she tell him the reason she ran, and was so cruel to him? Link didn't even do anything wrong, it was in Midna's head. She couldn't bring herself to say it, so she brought on her glare again and stared at him.

Link stared back. He had years of practice with fighting enemies, and he won, so Midna looked at her feet again.

Link won, and she would have to tell him. She sighed, and told him while still looking at her feet.

"I didn't want them to do it," Midna whispered, "but they kidnapped Zelda already, so what was I going to do?"

Link's eyes flew open. "They kidnapped Zelda?!"

Midna nodded.

"So now the Hylians want a fight."

"And the Twili. But… But I don't know who to side with…"

"What do you mean by that? You want to be with your people, right?"

Midna mumbled something, but Link didn't hear it. "What?" he asked.

"I want to be with you too…" Midna whispered, barely audible.

Midna continued to stare at the floor, and when she looked up, Link was… smiling.

Smiling.

Link never smiles. It made Midna's heart skip a beat, and she looked away to keep Link from seeing the heat rush into her cheeks.

Link sat down on Midna's bed. "Why did you walk away from me before? First you looked happy to see me, then you looked like I was Satan himself." **(Um, sorry if that offends you. =D) **

"You probably wouldn't remember."

"Remember what?"

Midna took a deep breath. If her life was ending soon, the first person she would tell her secret to would be Link. "When you were about to fight those stupid, disobedient, idiotic, annoying-"

"Uh, Midna?"

"Oh, right. When you were about to fight the Twili teenagers, you passed out. Remember that part?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, I found you while looking for them. Well, I found the teenagers circled around something. They had been transformed into shadow beasts."

Link still didn't get it, so Midna continued on. "I intervened, and used some spell to push them all away while I took you somewhere safe."

Link looked away, and Midna could see a curve of his cheeks where a smile was placed.

"Anyway, when I returned to the Twilight Realm, someone told me a little while later that… the teens were found…"

Link looked back at her, realizing that she was getting to the point. Midna didn't even need to say it- he pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

"I killed them, Link, I killed them all! If only they had listened to me, if only I had placed a more powerful seal over the entrance, if only…"

Link nodded into Midna's fire red hair, giving her words of sympathy. She felt Link's strong arms on her bare ones, and she wished time would freeze here forever, letting Midna let everything go and let her imagination wisp her away into a realm she had never been in before. In this realm, everything was right, perfect- beautiful. She had never felt like this before.

_I have to be dreaming._

Midna used her free arm to pinch her leg- hard. She winced at the feeling of it, and Link looked at her.

"Uh, nothing," Midna said, already knowing what was going to be asked.

Link shrugged and hugged her again. "You okay?" he whispered.

"You think I would be okay? I killed people of my own kind, and you think I would be okay?" Midna had stopped crying, but she was getting mad. Link got this and didn't say anything, and let Midna free of his embrace. Midna stood up and walked to the window.

When Midna felt Link's arms let go of her, she missed it. She wanted to be back in the circle of his arms, just sitting there together. But she knew she couldn't. He was from a world in which the Twili weren't allowed to come in contact with. But the Twili wants their freedom, and they don't know what it's like being in the world of light. Look what happened to those stupid teens!

Midna stopped herself there- no need to get worked up again. The past is… the past.

She burst into tears then- after thinking what she had. How could she just say what's done is done? That was the next generation that was killed. Hopefully the current adults are still pretty young…

Link walked up behind her and put his arm across her shoulders. Midna stopped crying, and Link smiled.

"This isn't any time to be smiling! Wipe that grin off your face!" Midna yelled, and smacked him across his cheek. Link started laughing, which only made Midna madder.

_"This is serious!" _She screamed even louder, and Link stopped laughing abruptly.

"I know, I'm sorry. And you didn't mean it, Midna. You know that."

Midna lowered her voice to barely louder than a quiet whisper. "That doesn't matter."

"Yes, Midna, it does."

Midna felt something rush through her body every time Link said her name. Midna also felt joy that Link never speaks unless he's around her, or someone he knows really well, like Ilia or something.

"Shouldn't you be getting back? You know that if you're caught here you'd be tried for attempted murder."

Link looked confused. "Did I try to kill you? A new Twilight law or something?"

"No, but we are at war, remember?"

"Well, you don't want to be at war with us."

"…No, I don't."

"So come to Hyrule," Link whispered, his eyes pleading.

Midna had never seen him look like that before. He looked even sadder than when she was standing before the Mirror of Twilight, about to go back to the Twilight Realm for the first time in a long time.

"I can't, Link. That would be suicide. The Hylians hate us."

"I'm a Hylian, and I don't hate you."

"Yeah, but you're… different."

Link smiled. "Thank you."

Midna nodded, looking out the window. She could see the central circle, the Mirror of Twilight, and an endless stretch of Twilight. It was beautiful, and Midna wouldn't be able to leave it. Yet she could be able to see everything again. The glistening waters of Lake Hylia, the rocky Death Mountain, the peaceful forests of Ordon… it was all so tempting. And if she wasn't with Link, she would be dead when a soldier found her.

And she could lie to the Twili saying that she was going to fight…

No, that would be suicide also. And betrayal. She couldn't leave her people! Oh, why did she have to be the princess? A normal life sounded much better.

Then again, she never would have met Link.

And what if—

Suddenly she was turned around and two fingers were under her chin, and Link's mouth was pressed softly onto hers. **(Yes, I know, so don't give me any reviews concerning MaxRide. =D) **

Midna's natural instinct was to pull away immediately and smack him, but she restrained herself. It felt strangely… good. She couldn't put the words into her head.

Midna finally got it now- that Link loved her… and she loved him back. She put her arms around Link's neck, and so fast that Midna didn't see it, they were on the sofa. Well, Midna was.

Her mind drifted off into nothing, and when they pulled away she didn't understand the words Link was saying to her.

"Huh?"

"I said, should I leave?"

"No!" Midna replied too fast, and Link grinned. Midna blushed and looked away.

She still didn't understand enough to think about what had just happened, so she wandered downstairs, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. She walked into the middle of two sides- light and dark. All of the Twili had their backs to the palace, defending it. The Hylians looked bloodthirsty and ready, and Midna walks into the middle.

Midna continued walking, then she tripped. Something whizzed over Midna's head, feeling it whip her hair around and yank it backwards.

Then a sickening shriek was heard, and it took Midna awhile to realize whose side it was on. One of the Twili had been hit in the middle of his eyes, and he dropped to the ground, dead.

All was silent for two solid moments. Midna turned around and saw that the person directly behind her had been shot. Someone was aiming for her, and her clumsiness had saved her life.

_I guess the credit can still go to Link…_Midna thought- completely unaware of what was going on.

Then the Twili rushed forward, knocking Midna down in front of a Hylian's feet. Midna was still in a daze, and she looked innocently back up at the soldier. He took out his spear and prepared to stab her with it.

Her mind finally snapped back to consciousness, and her eyes flew open. She was unable to move, and every nerve seemed to be acting up.

The soldier grunted, and leaned forward.

Midna softly shut her eyes and murmured her last words.

"Thank you… Link…"


	12. Zelda's Proposition

**To **_**Starll**_**: No, Midna didn't just die. No worries! And yeah, I guess I didn't make that part too clear. A Hylian soldier almost killed Midna, not a Twili. **

**To **_**Player4**_**: You know, I thought the same thing. I guess I was too excited about making Midna kiss Link. I'll fix it…. Later.**

_**To.,.. Everyone! **_Gotta love those reviews. Keep at 'em! WOO!

Midna kept her eyes closed, but opened them when something green stepped in front of her, grabbed the spear, and chucked it out in the open Twilight.

Zelda ran to Midna, picked her up, and let Midna lean against Zelda's shoulder.

"Midna! What were you thinking?!" she asked in a rush, pulling her to safety, away from the war that was now hand to hand combat.

"Um… Nothing, actually."

"You're damn right you weren't thinking! You just tried to commit suicide!"

Midna caught her balance and stepped away from Zelda. "Listen," Midna said with strained calmness, "I didn't _know _what I was doing because Link did it."

Both of them stood there thinking how ludicrous that statement sounded.

"Yes, because it's always Link's fault!" Zelda raised her voice- even then Midna could hardly hear it. Link was standing five feet away from them and due to the noise of the battle, he couldn't hear. His sword was drawn and was standing nervously with his shield.

Midna sighed. Perhaps wasn't the time.

"What should we do?" Midna asked her. She was really annoyed that this was the only sentence she could come up with. It put Zelda above her.

"We stop the fight, that's what we do."

"That's impossible!"

"The magic of Twilight and Light will stop it!"

Wonder dawned on Midna as she realized what Zelda was saying. They would have to work together.

At first, this plan seemed to sulk in its own grey and mournful depths. She hated Zelda, and she seemed to hate her.

Then, this plan proved worthwhile. She could show Zelda the true power of the Twilight and just how amazing and beautiful, and _powerful _it really is!

Midna smirked and nodded. She charged up some electric balls of energy so that it radiated off her. If anyone touched her, it would be like getting struck by four lightning bolts at the same time. So basically, it would kill you.

"Excuse me!" Zelda called in her most loud and strongest voice- which would usually make people pause what they were saying. But this wasn't working, and Midna wanted to shine.

"HEY PEOPLE! YOU STUPID FOOLS! STOP YOUR FREAKING FIGHTING!"

Ah yes, Midna's uncanny ability to shut people up and look in her direction. The electricity was making her hair float in the air. One Hylian paused in mid air and came crashing to the ground. His mouth was open and drooling. Midna looked away and shook her head in disgust.

It was really flattering to have everyone in the world think you're the most beautiful person ever, but it could get annoying. I mean, who wants random people showing up at your house with flowers? Creepers.

Midna looked at them again and put her "I'm going to kill you if you don't shut up face on." They weren't talking, but they looked at her while Zelda started speaking.

"This fighting is going to destroy the relationship between Shadow and Light. This bond is what keeps us both here. Without Light, there is no Shadow. Without Shadow…" There's no shade so you're all going to turn red and die of severe peeling. "…there's no Light. In eternal darkness, what guides you out?"

Midna thought Zelda was just rambling on about the same thing over and over again, but it seemed to work. Only two people remained fighting. Midna shut off her electric shock and went over to them. They didn't acknowledge her, so she smacked them hard against both of their cheeks in the same move.

"Hey!"

"What was that for?!"

"For not _shutting up! _Do you _want _to get thrown over into the Twilight?"

The Twili man quickly shook his head no, but the Hylian hesitated. He went over to the edge and looked down.

"Well, would I be able to come back up?" the Hylian asked, still looking over the edge.

"I mean, if I can get back up, then sure, whatever, but if I can't…"

Midna rolled her eyes and went behind the man and kicked him behind his knees. He swiveled around and fell off, screaming. Midna forgot how funny it could be. She grinned and walked back over to Zelda.

Zelda had her eyes wide as she came over. She continued to stare at her as Midna took a seat on the ground.

After a little, Midna looked up. "What?"

Zelda shook her head and turned back to the crowd of light and dark.

"Enough. I want all of the Hylians back in Hyrule, where they should be. No need to disturb the quiet peace of the Twilight Realm."

The Hylians didn't move. Midna sighed and stood up, walking over to them. They all dashed away from her. Midna herded them all back in through the Mirror of Twilight, leaving a series of Twili, Link and Zelda.

"Back to your homes!" Midna boomed to the Twili. "You shall forget all of this frivolous folly!"

They nodded and ran back to their respective houses. Midna walked over to Link, and he raised his eyebrows. "You're not going to throw me overboard, are you?"

Midna chuckled. "Of course not."

Zelda walked up to the two. "So where does this Twilight lead to anyway?"

Midna smiled. "Well, no one knows. Whoever falls down there is typically never seen again." Midna lowered her voice. "Only one person has ever made it back up. When he came up, he went mad. He never used to be like… what he was."

"Who was it?" Zelda asked, probably thinking it was Ganondorf whom she'd seen so many freaking times because she gets kidnapped and never thinks about defending herself so Link and some other companion has to go through so many freaking temples to gather power to go kill Ganondork _again and again and again… _

"Zant."

All was quiet. It seemed as if tumbleweed would go across the circle as they did in those old times that Link told her about.

"Well that explains a lot," Link shrugged.

"Hah, yeah…" Zelda said shakily.

"What's wrong?" Midna asked her.

"Oh, nothing. Just… wondering about how he got back up."

"Ganondorf?" Link asked. Midna knew his name would come up sometime.

"No, Zant found Ganondorf after he climbed back up," said Midna."

"…Well, no use discussing this now. Um, Link, if you would please come with me? I have something important to ask of you." Zelda murmured.

Link looked at Zelda funny, shrugged, and then followed her out into the world of Light.

**

* * *

**

**(Link's POV) **Link stepped onto the platform of Arbiter's Grounds that held the Mirror of Twilight. It was sunset, the time that he and Midna are closest.

…Anyway, Zelda had something to tell him. Something so damn urgent that he had to go back to Hyrule for it. But he needed to cool off his anger. Link stared at the sunset, making him peaceful.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Zelda asked Link. He nodded.

"It's about this time that I look of the throne room window and watch it. The view is so spectacular."

Link mutely remembered being back in Ordon, before this all happened, watching the sunset with Rusl.

"Sunrise is beautiful too. Especially when you watch it on Lake Hylia. The water glistens off the reflection of the sun. It looks like morning dew."

Link nodded.

Zelda sighed, giving up her determination to get Link to talk. "Well, I dragged you out of there to tell you something, so I might as well get to the point.

Geez, it was about time. Link turned to Zelda with his eyebrows raised. In the polite way, of course, because she could legally chop his head off.

"The Queen keeps pestering me about the future. My future. The day I will someday take her place as Queen. But the rule remains, that I cannot take that place unless a King would take the place of the current one."

Link stared at her, not willing to comprehend and accept what she was saying.

"It would be nice to be Queen. For years I have been known as Princess Zelda. Princesses have less rule than Queen's do, and you do get to wear the nice tiara. Not that I mind mine, I think it's one of a kind…"

Link turned away and looked at the sun, which was starting to disappear behind the horizon.

"Anyway…" Link turned back to her. "This may be a hard concept to say, and it will be, but would you consider, taking my hand in marriage?"

Link's eyes flew open. He opened his mouth to say something, then noticed something black in the shadow of the platform they were standing on. It wasn't facing the way a shadow should be- opposite the sun. It was more west. Seeing Link look at it, it flew back into the shadow of the platform.

"Please, sleep on it. Strongly consider it."

Zelda started walking down the steps of Arbiter's Grounds. Sad red eyes opened in the shadow. Link looked at it for a split second, then it deteriorated into the mirror of Twilight.


	13. To Kiss a Twili

**To **_**Starll:**_** Believe me, I really hate Zelda. (As in the princess, not the game series) So I made her sound like an idiot. And ZeldaxLink fanfics just annoy me. Sorry to anyone out there with one. =D**

**To **_**everyone!:**_** I have been getting a lot of reviews concerning the technology of Hyrule at its current state. I can't say it's an altered universe, because I didn't mean it to be, but let's just say there's a bunch of geniuses living in Hyrule… and the Twilight Realm… right now. **

**To **_**everyone again!: **_**Thanks for reviewing, and keep it up!!! WOO!**

**(Midna's POV) **Midna walked through the middle of the central circle, holding her head and limping. Why, oh why did the Goddesses make her see that? Why did her mind persuade her to spy on them? It would have been better not knowing.

Midna's mind was going in circles. Queen Zelda and… and King Link. Oh, how it hurt! How much of her life was going to end in a soap opera? And aren't most soap operas tragedies?

She walked into her palace, wondering what they were doing now. Link and his bride must be discussing what sort of filthy dress Zelda would wear. Something elegant, something that would make Midna hurl.

Wait… what if he said no? What if Link chose to stay with Midna? She was from a parallel universe that cannot come in contact with the man she loves. Talk about your Romeo and Juliet, which they oddly end up dying. Foreshadowing, maybe?

What if they would _invite _her to the wedding? What would she say? What would she wear? What would she do when they _kissed? _

Midna stumbled on her own feet, and she decided to take a seat on the closest chair, so the floor. She lied down and closed her eyes. She started humming a tune that she made up, and it calmed her. She fell asleep after a while, dreaming about her melody. She and Link dancing to her melody…

At about six thirty in the morning, she woke up with a gasp. Somebody was shaking her shoulder nervously and yelling, "Princess! Princess Midna! Oh dear, wake up!"

"Huh?! What?"

The lady looked relieved. "Oh my goodness, I thought you were dead on the floor! Why did you sleep there? It must have been horribly uncomfortable!"

"I… I was dizzy."

"Why were you dizzy?"

"I don't know, I just was!"

The lady looked taken aback, and stepped back one step. "I am sorry, Princess Midna. I was afraid for your life."

"Thanks for your concern, but it's not needed."

The lady nodded and walked upstairs. She stood up and walked outside. The world around her looked so cruel. She felt like she wanted to be back, safe at home. But the Palace of Twilight didn't give her that homey feel. So where was home?

She wondered what Link and Zelda were doing right now. When would be the wedding? Midna shrugged and walked through the central circle to the Mirror of Twilight. It accepted her through to Hyrule.

So where should she start? Ordon or Hyrule Castle? Probably the Castle. That's where the wedding will be, right? Would it be today?

She warped to the entrance of the East Gate and turned herself into a shadow. She felt like Tarzan- swinging from shadow to shadow, never being seen. And since Castle Town was always so heavily populated, she'll be able to move around easily! This was too easy.

Midna took the shadow of the last guard in the line of six. They walked through the eastern throughfare to the southern one. Shrugging, she took the form of some random man's who was walking towards the central circle. He started to go west, so when he got to the wall, she slipped onto it's shadow. She just hugged the wall until she got to the first doors.

_Dammit…There's no shadow on the doors! Ugh, I should have taken the eastern wall! _Midna would have to either go around or be a shadow in a place where shadows shouldn't be. The sun was facing the wrong way in the direction she had to go. Midna decided she would risk it. She dashed across the door and went behind it. If she was discovered by someone other than Link or Zelda, she would be killed.

This road was all shadow. She walked up the ramp and slipped through the crack in the doors.

There was no one on this road, so she walked up through the middle as a shadow. The light shined on her, but she didn't care. She slipped through the third door and awed at the beautiful courtyard. She stood there for a minute, before heading onto the front doors.

Midna's eyes flew open. Pink roses were sitting on tables covered in a white cloth. An Alter was posted in the far end of the room, and a white carpet was rolled out to the door.

_No… no… no…_

A familiar yet annoying voice echoed from the top of the room. Midna looked up to find Zelda talking to some old man.

"Father, have the pews arrived yet? Surely people cannot sit in chairs."

"Not yet. But don't you think we should wait until Link responds to your offer?"

_He hasn't said anything yet?_

"Father, you know he will say yes! He won't refuse the princess anything."

"Zelda, you may be getting cocky. He may want to remain single."

"I do not think he will be single for long."

_Who does she think she is?_

"You listen here, okay? If Link may refuse—"

"Which he won't,"

_Not if I have anything to do with it!_

"— I want you to remain mature."

"Father, you know I will be modest about everything."

"I know dear. Now go talk to your maiden about which dress you shall wear."

"Yes, father. Oh and by the way…"

"What is it?"

"May I add someone to the guest list?"

"… Who may that be?"

"Um, the princess of the Twilight Realm. Midna."

"Absolutely not."

"But daddy!"

"Enough. Go to your maiden!"

Zelda sulked away into one of the million rooms.

So Zelda wasn't so selfish after all. She wanted to invite her. For some reason, that made her feel better about it. She didn't hate Zelda for wanting to marry Link. And… if Link said yes, she may just have to deal with it. Everything would be right. Link would be with someone of his own world, and Midna would find someone in the Twilight. And Midna will come to the wedding, but watch it from afar- from the shadows.

Midna began to get excited. Maybe it would be fun? But she decided it was wasted time standing basically on top of a wall thinking to herself. She warped to Ordon Spring to talk to Link.

Link was sitting on the edge of the water's end, moving his pointer and middle fingers in the water. He looked surprised when she appeared in the center of the pond.

"Midna? What are you doing here?" Link sounded upset.

"I came to talk to you. What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"I know you well enough that there's something the matter, now speak up."

Link sighed. He said nothing, but picked up a smooth, flat stone and skipped it across the water. It sunk after two successful skips with a plop.

"Come now, I don't bite… hard…" Midna teased.

Link smiled, but continued skipping stones. One hit Midna's ankle and landed on her foot.

"Sorry…" Link murmured.

Midna sat down next to him. "Is this about Zelda?

"Partly."

"And you?"

"Partly."

What else could there be? "Um… being together?"

"…Partly."

So something else was bothering him. But what could it be? Ilia?

"What else is there?"

Link looked up at her. His soft, sad gaze cut deep into Midna's heart. "You, Midna. How could I say yes, when you're still in my life?"

Midna's mouth dropped open a centimeter. Link went back to skipping stones while she continued to gaze at him with wonder. She felt so… in the way. She was keeping Link from doing things in his life. Finally Midna got her speech back again.

"Do you want to say yes?"

Link threw the rock down in the water. It landed with a loud thunk and some of the water splashed Midna on the nose. She flicked it away and looked up at Link when he stood up and turned away from her.

"That's the problem! If I say no, people will hate me and think me an enemy for refusing the Royal Family. If I say yes, then I'll hate myself for saying so and have a miserable life as King of Hyrule. I don't know how to run my own country! And I don't know how to love Zelda when…"

He paused, and all the tension of the conversation for him disappeared. He let his shoulders hang loose, and he stopped clenching his hands.

"…when I already love someone else."

Midna realized what a predicament he was in, and how she loved him so much more when he said that. "Maybe people won't hate you if you said no…"

She stopped there- not wanting him to think that she was pulling for him to say no. "And maybe you won't be so miserable if you said yes."

Link turned around, confusion on his face. "Do you want me to marry Zelda?"

"No! I mean, that's not… I don't…" Midna pulled herself together. "…You do whatever you want."

"Midna, that doesn't help matters."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that for once I want someone to tell me what to do. I want… help."

Midna completely understood what he meant by that. He wasn't so sure about asking for help, because he's the Chosen Hero and he's supposed to know how to get out of these kinds of things smoothly. Well, not _this _particular thing.

Her past experiences reminded her of that word: help. When she was thrown out, she needed help. Help gathering the power of the Fused Shadows. And she was a princess- she should have known, shouldn't she?

But she got the help, and her situation was solved. Well, her major situation. Now Link needed help with his minor one.

Midna also realized she had a minor situation. A situation for the health of her heart. Would she be broken if Link married Zelda?

Maybe… maybe they could help each other… But Midna didn't want to think about it too deeply.

Link sat down beside her again. Taking a deep breath, Midna placed her hand on top of Link's. He looked over at her with sad eyes.

"You'll get through it, Link. I know you will."

"Doesn't make me feel better."

Midna smiled a little, which made Link smile. She knew what he said just now was a total lie.

"Yes it does," Midna teased. Link said nothing in response.

"You know Midna, you do get on my nerves sometime.

"Yeah… It's a love-hate relationship."

Link gave a small peck on Midna's cheek before getting up and walking away.


	14. His Decision

_***skips in a circle singing* You're gonna hate me… You're gonna hate me…**_

_**No, I don't do that on a regular basis. =)**_

_**It is decided. **_

Midna sat on the edge of Ordon Spring, wondering what Zelda was doing now. And maybe what Link was going to say. Sigh… If only she could read minds…

It was such a nice day. The sun was shining bright- the sky was an endless blue. She only saw a few white puffy clouds hover over the treetops for a moment.

The day time was beautiful, but Midna thought the night was even better. Endless stars as far as the eye can see. She even remembered nights when she and Link would take some time off killing monsters and lie back on a non-monster-infested part of Hyrule Field and stare up at the stars. Away from town lights, the stars shone brighter. Link even pointed out a few pictures in the sky. Like a big and small pot-looking thing. He said back before there were maps, there was a star that people would see that told them where north was. The next night, Midna tried to lead them to Lake Hylia from Kakariko Village following the North Star alone. She brought them to the South Gate of Hyrule Castle.

Midna chuckled to herself- thinking back on their adventure together. She sighed- wishing she could do it again.

Just then, footsteps made her breathing halt and she immediately turned herself into a shadow and clung to the wall underneath some trees.

"Are you sure there's someone you want me to meet, Link?" a small boy's voice came from around the corner. He was the blond boy- the one he rescued. Colin, his name was.

"Positive."

"Well he's not here," Colin mumbled.

"Actually, that he is a she." Link said, looking around for her.

"What? A she? What about Ilia?"

"What about her?"

"Don't you guys…" Colin lowered his voice and smiled. "… _like_ like each other?"

Link laughed. "No Colin, only as friends. Why would you think that?"

Midna internally groaned. Link's got another girl hanging onto him.

"Ilia asked me if you liked her back."

"When?"

"While you were saving the world," Colin said without batting an eye.

"Uh…"

"She said that it's so heroic of you to go out of your way to do something for Hyrule like that."

Midna wasn't quite sure, but she thought she heard Link say, "I didn't get much of a choice."

Colin said he was going back, but Link insisted he meet me. Maybe I'll freak him out and stay as a shadow. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.

Midna slithered out in her shadow form- staying on the ground. She tapped Link's shoe. He looked down and didn't even blink. He knew it was her. Link looked over at Colin and Midna nodded. She went into Link's shadow and then into Colin's. From there, she stepped out in front of Colin.

"Hey Link? Is something about to fall on us?" Colin asked him. Link smiled a tiny bit but then quickly dissolved it.

"Uh, I don't think so, why?"

"Because there's a shadow out in the middle of no where…"

"Oh, whatever. Step on it, see what happens," Link said, a clear smile in his voice.

He knew it wasn't going to hurt her- not in this form. But like every other living thing, it would hurt if you got stepped on.

"What good did that do?"

"I don't know, maybe it would activate a trap door or something."

"A trap door?!" Colin asked, fright in his voice.

"Colin, you know that if it was bad, I would jump in and save you."

"Yeah…"

"Well, this shadow…"

Midna shook her head no, wanted to press the joke further.

"…is who I wanted you to meet."

Colin looked at the Hero, wondering if he went insane. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. Midna, joke's over."

Midna sighed loudly- staying in her imp form. How long ago was it that she was doomed to this cramped, gangly body? A month? Two weeks?

She turned solid and smiled at the boy, who went behind Link.

"You two get to know each other. I have to… take care of some… business."

Colin watched Link walk out of the Spring. Later on, he galloped by on Epona, heading to Faron Woods.

Colin smiled at Link cantering away, then turned back to Midna.

"Why is your skin like that?"

Midna laughed. "It's because I'm not from here. I'm from a different world entirely."

"So you're an…" he lowered his voice, "_alien?"_

Midna laughed again. "Yes, I suppose I am an alien!" She turned her face into one of an alien's in her mind. "Oooooo…."

Colin smiled. "What's your name?"

Should she say "Princess?" "Midna. Just… just Midna."

"Well okay, "Just Midna," what's the name of your world?"

Midna smiled. "Twilight. It's like sunset everyday in my world. It's like sunset in Hyrule, only prettier."

Colin shook his head. "Nothing could be prettier than Hylian Sunsets. When you watch them here at Ordon Spring… now that's beautiful." He stared up into the sky imagining it, and Midna did the same. He was right- Hylian sunsets are beautiful. The sky is purple, orange, yellow, pink, and red all at the same time. She loved it.

On the other hand, she _had _to love the Twilight. She was its princess. She had no choice. She sighed.

"What's the matter?" Colin asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just imagining the Hylian sunsets too."

"How'd you know I was thinking of them?" he asked with a smile.

Midna tapped her temple. "I can read minds," she smirked.

"Really? What am I thinking about right now?"

"How Twilight Sunsets are prettier than Hylians," she guessed. Colin's eyes flew open.

"You really can read minds!"

Midna laughed, and Colin laughed too, although he didn't know why.

All was silent for a while. Colin looked up at the sky again, deep in thought. Midna was also thinking now too. Link was probably heading on his way to Hyrule Castle. His decision was probably made.

Midna gulped. His response would either make or break her. But she would show no emotion regardless of what he said. Keep her cool. Midna knew that if he said yes, she would be in shock and not be able to congratulate them fully. She wouldn't be able to sleep completely. Her life may never be the same again.

Oh, if only Zeph were alive! He would surely have good news to tell her that would keep her mind off Link.

She mentally prayed he would say no. She felt horrible thinking so, but she was too selfish at the moment that she wanted to get her way.

Colin looked over at her. Midna looked back, awaiting his question.

"Were you the girl that Link was with on his journey?"

Midna nodded, seeing where this was going.

"Do you… like him?"

"Of course I do!" Midna said uneasily.

"No I mean… um…"

"More than that…?"

Colin nodded. He was a kid, and he blushed. He obviously didn't like talking about it.

"No, just as a friend," Midna lied.

"Oh good, because he and Ilia… _like liked…_ each other for awhile."

Midna looked at the softly moving spring. "I know."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"How?"

Kissing was probably too much for a child, wasn't it? "I could just tell, you know?"

"Yeah. So could I."

"Yeah…"

Speaking of girls, Link was on his way to see one now. And she wanted to know…

"Well, I must be going. I have to return home before anyone else sees me!" Midna said lightheartedly.

"Okay! See you tomorrow!" Colin said as he stood up and skipped off in the direction of his little village.

Midna closed her eyes. She wondered if Link knew she was going to be there. Knowing her, he probably did. Would he lie to Zelda just because he was there? Or would he tell her the straight truth?

She knew it may end badly, but she wanted to see the look on Zelda's face if it goes her way.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself.

_1… 2… 3… And here we go…_

Midna uncertainly warped herself to the entrance of the East Gate of Hyrule Castle Town.

******************************************************************************************************************************

She did as she went before, except without all of the swinging from shadow to shadow. She just decided to make this quick and simple and stayed to the wall.

Then she realized something key- Epona wasn't here. Link wasn't here yet? What, was he taking a nice walk? Or did Epona get over her fright of stairs and they went up?

Midna just decided to get to Hyrule Castle, and fast. She didn't want to miss anything.

Hugging the Southern throughfare wall and skipping into a couple of people's shadows to make the trip faster, she dashed along the shadows. Finally making it to the central circle east wall, she hurriedly ran past the oblivious guards. I mean, if you looked really hard, you could see the barest outline of her imp body moving along the shadows.

Slipping between the second and third door cracks, she arrived at the courtyard. There were some balloons, but some guards were coming to take them down. Was she too late?

Dashing through the huge double doors of the main entryway to the castle, she held her breath, hoping a man dressed in green would not be greeting her.

There was only Zelda awaiting Link's arrival at the top of the stairs. She stayed in the small shadow of the door- the light was too bright. It almost hurt Midna's eyes.

Zelda stared up at the ceiling- the beautiful ceiling of Hyrule Castle. She looked lonely.

Midna was never lonely as the Princess of Twilight. Well, she used to never be. Before Zant got out of control and threw her out, that is.

She wondered how long Link would be before he got here. Hopefully, he hadn't been here yet. If he had been here, judging by the princess' expression, he would have turned her down.

But her face could mean that she was eagerly anticipating his arrival and that she had her hopes up.

Her face could also mean that she was wondering what dress she was going to wear. She probably had seventy-three in her closet.

Link still wasn't here yet, but Midna somehow knew he was almost here. Zelda felt it too. She looked up at the door, first with concern, then with suspicion. _Does she see me?_

Midna didn't breathe- she didn't move a muscle. If she was spotted, she would be thrown out and Zelda would probably question her invitation.

Zelda eventually shrugged and looked back up at the ceiling. Midna sighed, then sucked in her breath again when she heard the doorknob turn. Zelda looked up too.

"Good morrow, Princess. A man would like to speak with you in private," a soldier said to the princess. Midna's lungs were about to burst from lack of air.

"Yes, of course. Bring him in."

Midna was still holding her breath, cheating a bit by sucking some in through her nose and letting some out little by little. Link walked through the doors, showing no emotion as usual.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed. She stood up and walked down the stairs and walked over to him. "Oh, it's so nice to see you! Did you have an easy trip here?"

"Yes, I did actually. A first in a long time."

"Well that's good. No monsters?" Zelda asked, laughing a little.

"None at all."

"Well that's good."

He nodded.

Zelda looked around. It was silence as usual. Link was still looking at the princess as if she had something to say first.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk to me in private?"

"I did actually."

"Well, let's go in here," Zelda said, surely freaking out.

Midna followed in the shadows to the stairs. They went in the second door and went straight to the balcony.

"Is this about my offer?"

"Yes."

Zelda looked at Link, waiting his response.

Midna's heart pounded as she hid in the shadows. Was her life about to be broken, right here, right now? Or would it be made and Zelda's heart crushed? Would they stay together, or just be friends… or not even?

Midna looked at Link- he was staring at the tile on the floor. It looked like he was going to say no.

Then he looked up at the sky- facing east. Then he looked at the tile again.

So many things were running through her mind. But she didn't remember them because she was freaking out. She was sure that Link and Zelda could hear her heartbeat.

Zelda looked at Link with concern. It was washed away when Link looked back up at her.

Midna's teeth started chattering, but she shut her mouth to keep from being noticed. Goose bumps formed slowly on her skin, and she started to go cold. Her forehead felt hot though.

Link took in a deep breath, as did Midna and Zelda.

"Yes."


	15. Preparing to Advance

**I want to hear how you guys think this will play out.**_** I've**_** got it planned out, but can you guess what I'm going to do? If you get it right… **

**Anyway, R&R!**

* * *

Midna was dizzy. She was seeing double- but she was sure she could see Zelda's face; happy and shocked.

Her face was probably looking as terrible as she felt, and she spun around only to hit the wall. Groaning, she leaned against it again. She didn't have the strength to pull her over the siding.

Why does her mind need to know _everything?! _She knew that her mental intellect would be destroyed if she listened, and Link said yes. What do you know; her lucky stars disappeared behind a grey cloud of despair.

Zelda looked over in the direction of the shadows, but Link refused to turn around. His fists clenched, but he didn't leave. Midna knew that Zelda and Link knew she was there.

What Midna said about this possibly turning out okay went over the wall and splattered on the ground. She never knew how much her heart would be aching, and how much she loved Link.

Zelda motioned to Link to follow her. He didn't move.

"Link, this may not be the best time…"

"…"

Zelda shooed Link away. He had no choice but to obey. Walking across the bridge and through the tower doors, he was gone.

Zelda stood there, obliviously looking at her. She knew Midna was there, but she didn't look hard enough to see her outline. "Midna?" she called quietly. She didn't respond.

"Are you okay, Midna?"

She debated on whether to groan loudly or keep quiet… or kill her. She decided to remain still.

"I… I know you're upset…"

_Then why'd you do it in the first place?!_

"And… If I could reverse it I would…"

Midna refused every urge to whip the new Queen.

"But…"

Midna started to lose her energy. She was going to turn into her solid form if she didn't leave now. Raising one shaking hand, she grasped the top of the waist-high concrete wall.

"I did it because I love him too."

Midna felt her heart take another hit and she cringed. Yet still desperate to leave, she hoisted herself on top of the wall. Her shadow was clearly visible now, and Zelda grasped her now solid hand before she could fall.

"And he would be so deep in depression if you killed yourself, Midna."

Midna stared back up at her with weary eyes. "I want to go," she said quietly.

"Not away forever."

"No. Forever. What's my purpose for living?"

Tears welled up in Zelda's eyes. "I'm sorry, Midna. I didn't understand when I asked him to marry me. Now I get it, and I'm sorry."

Midna wasn't going to tell Zelda to cancel the wedding, but she wanted to. She wasn't going to be selfish, unlike the light princess.

"I'm going to pull you up now," Zelda said calmly.

Midna was about to protest, but Zelda hoisted her back up onto the bridge. Midna collapsed on the ground, and stared at it.

"Get up, Midna," Zelda commanded. It sounded like she was going to hit her.

"Too… tired…"

"Midna, you look pathetic. Link would claim he didn't know you if you looked like this all the time."

With that, Midna glared at Zelda with an icy expression, which made Zelda back up.

"Okay, I didn't mean it like that," she tried.

"Yes you did," Midna snarled.

"I don't want to fight you. I wouldn't want to hurt you."

Midna got on her knees. Anger was fueling her strength. "Are you saying you would beat me?"

"Frankly, yes. I mean, just look at you."

Midna stood up, towering over her. "Are you sure about that?"

Zelda nodded.

"Well then," Midna started to radiate electricity, when Link ran over to her. Oblivious to the blue light circling her, he started to shake her shoulder, then screamed in pain. She had electrocuted him!

"Link!" Zelda and Midna cried at the same time.

He fell on his knees, but by instinct immediately got back up.

"Maybe you should go," Zelda growled.

Without a word, she jumped over the edge. And once again, something caught her hand.

"Zelda, maybe you should go. How could you say that?"

"Honey," Zelda began, then stopped when she saw the fury in Midna's eyes. "Link, did you see what she did to you?"

"See it? I mainly felt it." Midna winced. "But I'm built to handle that."

Zelda nodded and took off.

"I'm so sorry, Link,"

"I think I should say the same."

"Why are you sorry?"

Link sighed. He probably knew this question would arise. "I was afraid that if I said no… that I would be exiled from Hyrule by the townspeople. They dearly love their princess, and if she was to be hurt in any way possible, whether it be physically or emotionally…"

_Gee, _Midna thought, _everyone's lives are soap operas. Or some romantic tragedy. The question is, whose life will be the tragedy?_

Midna pulled herself together. "Well, I told myself I would deal with it…" she took in a deep breath, "and that's what I'm going to do."

Link didn't believe her. "I know you better than that."

"I know you do. But for right now, just trust me, okay?"

Link looked at the ground.

"Link?"

He looked up at her again with sad, miserable eyes.

Midna lowered her voice to no more than a hoarse whisper. "You don't want to marry Zelda… do you?"

Link looked at the ground once more. One lone teardrop fell from his eye. He clenched his hands and wiped it away. He looked back up at her again. "No."

This sentence, this word, just made Midna's day.

"Anything I can do?"

Link shook his head no.

A divorce was out, canceling the wedding was out, and anything else that had to deal with breaking Link up with Zelda was out. He had already told her he didn't want to hurt the townspeople's feelings. And hurting Zelda's feelings was out too.

So what, did Midna's feelings not count? Was she just there- meaningless with no definition?

_No. I know Link loves me. He just doesn't want to hurt anyone else's feelings. He knows he hurt mine… right?_

She nodded, and Link looked at her, giving her a confused expression.

"It's nothing."

Link's eyes went blank. Midna looked at him funny, and he motioned with his eyes to Zelda who was walking across the bridge toward them looking concerned.

"Midna, you said that when Zant was thrown into the open Twilight, he managed to pull himself up, only his mind was crazed. Is that correct?"

Midna nodded.

"Well, I was just thinking about it, and I think something is in there."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's impossible that Zant could have flown back out. It's possible that there was a ledge in the Twilight, and he found a way up. His insanity could only have been bloodlust for the person that threw him overboard."

Midna looked away, and Link and Zelda looked at her curiously.

"I didn't do it! It's just…"

"Just what, Midna?" Link's quiet voice came.

"Well, see, I was being… harassed… by Zant. Continuously. So… I ordered a guard to put him to death. Because I gave no specifics on how to, the guard threw him into the Twilight."

Zelda looked at her with a, "what do you think you were doing" face. "You should _always _give specific orders, Midna."

Link looked at her in a way that said, "Yeah. No kidding." Midna smiled at him. Zelda caught this and sighed.

"But I think… I think a spy should go and see what it really is. It still remains a mystery because no one has lived to talk about it."

"Gee, Zelda, what great encouragement that is." Midna rolled her eyes as she was saying it. Zelda blushed.

"Well, I would go…"

Link turned to Zelda in alarm. "No way. I would be going."

Zelda smiled at this remark, oblivious to the fact that Link is always the first one to do something dangerous.

"No, you're both wrong," Midna commanded in her strongest voice. Link looked at Midna as if to say shut up.

"No," Link and Zelda said at the same time.

"Do you think I'm so inexperienced? Do you know the Twilight as well as I do? Do you know how to turn into a shadow so you _don't _end up dying in the Open Twilight? Because Zant did too. He came up alive. I'm going. It's _my _world."

Link hunched his shoulders after Midna's last sentence. Zelda sighed again.

"Midna, I don't think you should—"

"Zelda, would it really make a difference? If you went in and you died, Hyrule would blame the Twilight Realm for something they didn't even do and it would be the end of it. If I went, the Twili would have no one to blame except my own stupidity."

Link looked at Midna, rage clear in his face. "You're not going to do something like that, Midna."

"And if they lost the Chosen Hero and future King of Hyrule? How mad would the people be then? I'm guessing pretty angry. More than your average fist fight."

_"No, Midna."_

Midna was taken aback at the strength of his voice. Midna narrowed her eyes. She wasn't one to go along with someone telling her no. Then she realized something completely obvious- she had an uncanny ability to warp. Interesting.

Gathering up energy, she prepared to warp. But something warm came down on her hand, forcing her to pause.

"I know you better than that. You were going to warp and go commit suicide in the open Twilight," Link muttered

Midna clenched her fists.

"Fine, you can go. But we need a plan before you go charging off."

About to protest, she opened her mouth. Link put his hand over it, and Midna's cheeks flushed.

"Shut up, Midna," Link commanded and took his hand off her mouth.

She hung her head. She was a princess, and she allowed herself to be pushed around like this.

But if it came from Link, who cares?

* * *

**Okay, that wasn't one of my best chapters. In fact, I hated it. *Sighs* Yet never fear, one of these days I'll write a really amazing chapter!!!!!**

**WOO!**


	16. Turning Tables

**We're getting near the end, folks! Maybe about 6 more chapters, maybe less. But it's getting there! **

**R&R!**

* * *

"So you'll go down the south side, off the central circle, and find a ledge? No."

"There are random ledges down in the open Twilight, Link. I've looked down it once."

"You don't know how far down it goes though! What if that's it?"

"It won't be it!"

"How do you know?!"

Link and Midna were continuously contemplating how Midna was going to find out if there really is something down in the Open Twilight. It may be a power that could change the world forever, or there could be nothing at all and she would die down there.

Zelda, on the other hand, was sitting quietly in the corner, thinking herself. Suddenly an idea sprouted in her head.

"We throw a rock down and see if it hits the ground!" she yelled.

Both Link and Midna stared at her for a moment, then continued arguing.

"It was worth a shot…" Zelda muttered.

This went on for ten more minutes, then Zelda had another idea.

"Why don't you just turn yourself into an imp so you can float again?"

Midna began to get frustrated. "Because I would need the Fused Shadows, which Zant stole from us and crushed, Zelda."

Zelda hunched her shoulders.

"What if there's nothing at all down there? What if Zant was just so powerful that he could get up? We might be overreacting," Link offered.

"No. That's impossible. He had only the powers of Twilight, not the amazing force that is down there. Ganondorf just added to it."

"So say there is nothing down there. How are you going to get back up?"

"The ledges."

"What if you can't reach them?"

"Link, just shut up! You're trying to make me scared so the plan would be off, or you would go, which you wouldn't. So just… just stop talking!"

"I'm _not _just going to throw you into the open Twilight without a plan or something to bring you back up!"

"Thanks for your concern, but it's not needed," Midna said severely.

"Hey guys…" Zelda called quietly.

"Do you not _care? _Do you not _value your life?_"

"I value it as much as anyone else does!"

"I have a plan, guys…" Zelda tried again, just a little louder.

"I'll bring a fairy, does that make you happy?" Midna yelled.

"A fairy won't bring you to safety, it'll only make you more alert as you plummet to the core of the world!"

"I can warp, you know!"

"Not while you're falling!"

"If I can't get out, I can warp when I'm on a ledge!"

_"What if there are none?!" _

_"GUYS!" _Zelda yelled, finally getting her voice to be heard.

_"WHAT?!" _Link and Midna asked at the same time.

"I have a plan."

"Zelda, we're _not _going to make me hold a chicken and jump off the edge," Midna sighed.

"It's not that."

"Hover boots _don't _last forever, Zelda," Link told her.

"I know."

"I'm not going to strap wings to myself…"

"Midna isn't going to just jump…"

"I know! I know! Just let me talk, okay?"

Link and Midna waited tensely.

"We connect a bunch of ropes together—"

"Absolutely not," Link automatically said.

"What? Why? I thought it was a good plan!" Zelda pouted.

"Ropes break. That means Midna would fall. Next plan."

"If we get special ropes! Like cable wires! The ones that are keeping the drawbridge from falling!"

"Those are chains, Zelda."

"The wire that runs inside the chains. Between them."

"Wait—chain sounds good," Midna said.

"How would we strap you onto a chain?" Link asked her rhetorically.

"We get more chains to hook on!"

"You'd fall out!"

"Hook them tight!"

"Link! Midna! Fighting won't do us any good. I think Midna's right- the chain idea sounds like it would work."

One look at Link meant getting a punch in the face. His eyes were blazing with fury- they were almost as red as Midna's.

Midna looked out the half-oval-shaped window and saw dozens of hundreds of people with swords and spears slashing at each other. It was getting red out there in the courtyard.

"Why don't we get some sleep? It's about time to, anyway. We'll get things set up tomorrow and the next day, and possibly the day after that, and then we'll start this adventure."

"Okay, but Zelda? Maybe you would want to deal with the war that is going on outside," Midna said bluntly, pointing with her thumb to the window.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked, getting up to look out the window.

"Um, I mean the mass outside whose intent is killing each other."

"This stupid _war!_ This war must end!"

"The Twilight got out again, didn't they…?" Midna asked, sounding bored.

"Midna, you need to be more responsible!"

"I was here, arguing about how to find the lost power deep within the Twilight! How was I to stop a fight?!"

"You need to spend more time in the Twilight Realm!"

_"What the heck?! How is this my fault?!" _Midna blazed.

"Maybe if your people didn't think we kidnapped you, this never would have happened!"

"I already told them that I was going to go to Hyrule for the sake of peace!"

"Yeah, and look how that turned out!"

"Zelda! Midna! What happened to "let's just get some sleep?" Let's just all go home. I think we need our space."

"Gladly," Midna muttered, warping to Arbiter's Grounds.

* * *

**(Link's POV) **By order of Zelda, Link ignored the fight that was going on in front of him and trotted out on Epona for Ordon Village. He knew he wouldn't sleep a wink- knowing what was going to happen to Midna sooner or later.

It sounded like a suicide mission. Drop Midna onto a ledge and find some power that Zelda brought up out of no where which made Midna interested. What did the power even _look _like? Would it obvious with a glowing neon sign saying, "I'm a source of power! Take me with you!"? Probably not.

Would it be glowing? And how would Midna know how to get it out? She wouldn't be stupid enough to touch it without knowing what it would do to her, would she?

And what if… If it turned her mind into a black hole like it did to Zant…? How would Link deal then?

He remembered his words to Midna that day in the Gerudo's Mesa.

"_But… if I go insane and turn into something… evil… will you do what's… necessary?"_

Link shut his eyes. He would have to kill her. He swallowed hard. It was too painful to think about.

_Think of sleep… only of sleep… _Link thought. And later, he did, but had terrible nightmares.

At 5:52, Link awoke. The only images he had last night were of Midna- an evil Midna. She had no pupils- just straight black eyes. Her skin color was opposite- the white part was on the dark- and it was Link's job to kill her.

And he did.

Breathing in stuttered gasps, he sat on his bed holding his head, unsuccessfully trying to calm himself down. Finally he stood up, wiping off his clothing and went to the creek in Ordon Village. He dunked his head under into the cold water and then rubbed the water over his arms and legs.

"Link!" a woman cried. Looking up, he wiped the water off his face and greeted Uli with an unexpected smile.

"You're in a good mood today, aren't you?" Uli asked with a smile.

Link nodded back.

"Well, I hear Fado's looking for you. Something about rounding up goats."

Link laughed. "At the ranch?"

"Of course. Where else?"

"Just checking." Link started to head up towards the ranch, when she called back to him.

"Oh, and Link?" he turned around.

"Colin said hi."

Link smiled and nodded and walked towards the ranch.

He turned left and walked up the ramp, and said hello to Bo. Fado greeted him right when he walked in.

"Hey! Link! Hey, welcome back to Ordon! So… you wanna round up the goats like old times? They still ain't listenin' to me!"

Link smiled and nodded. "Sure."

He took out the horse whistle Ilia had given him and blew on it. Epona showed up almost instantly.

"Heeeey… That's Ilia's, isn't it?" Fado smirked.

"She gave it to me," Link said, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

"You guys still…" Fado asked, smiling.

"No," he said severely, leaving out the fact that he's… _engaged._

Fado stepped back, but coughed back a smile. Link jumped onto Epona and rounded up nineteen goats, but got bucked off Epona when the twentieth rammed into them. Finally he got them all in, and received the goat milk from Fado. Finally he got to leave. As soon as he got onto Hyrule Field, the postman called for him.

"Mr. Link! I have a message for you! A _royal _message!"

Link wearily smiled and took the message. It was from Zelda, obviously.

"Dear Link,

I was wondering when you would want to have the wedding. I mean, love lasts forever, so we don't have to rush, but when would you like it?

Love you more,

Zelda."

Link choked on the last bit- he couldn't say that back to her. He didn't mean it! Great, what trouble did he get himself into now?!

"What news is this? A _wedding?!" _the postman asked, standing up as far as he could to see the letter.

Link threw the letter in his pocket and kicked Epona's side. She reared, and the postman stepped back. With an icy glare, Link and Epona galloped away.

* * *

**(Midna's POV) **Midna woke up the next morning to a cold, hard stone floor. She was positive that she had fallen asleep on her bed. She doesn't recall that she sleepwalks. And… and where was the replica of the Mirror of Twilight hanging on her wall?

"Hey… what's going on?" she asked out loud. She tried to stand up, but she looked behind her to find her wrists and ankles bound together.

"Hey! Get me out of here!"

Using her electric ability, she broke her binds and stood up.

This room had no windows, and the walls were solid concrete. The floor was clear- she could see about 20 floors down.

A loud screech made her clutch her ears. Twilight magic was expanding over a rectangular area, and the area opened. It was a door.

A figure was emerging out of the shadows. It appeared to be just a little taller than her.

"Midna… Look at you! You're all grown up now…" the voice said.

Midna's eyes grew wide. She knew that voice. The figure came into her perfect view.

"Surprised, are we…"

Zant punched Midna square in the face. She staggered back, then he kicked her in the stomach.

"No one will be stealing my throne tonight…"

One more punch to Midna's cheek and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

**Okay, so I actually like this chapter. Really. Not lying. So… you gonna review? =)**


	17. Torture

**I just realized something. Probably a bit too late, but oh well. **

**The landmarks I'm using are from the Wii map. So if you have TP for the Gamecube, the Wii map is just a mirror image. **

* * *

**(Link's POV) **Riding Epona still, Link went west to Arbiter's Grounds. It took him and Epona forever to reach the Mirror Chamber because the temple was still the same except there were no monsters. The sand made them slower, and some parts he had to lead Epona across the gap. But finally they made it there. Link dismounted Epona and kept her in the shade. He walked up to the Mirror of Twilight and entered the Twilight Realm.

There was absolutely no one in the Central Circle, and the nearest house looked like it was cleaned out. He walked uncertainly towards the palace.

The main room was filled with people. As he opened the door, he whapped somebody on the back of the head. Everyone was talking; Link couldn't even hear his own thoughts.

"What's going on?" he asked somebody after tapping him on the shoulder.

"I don't know. I was pulled out of my house for it! Some big news."

Link walked to another person and asked the same thing. "They're going to announce it now," an old sounding woman said.

Link looked up at a Twili guard.

"Listen! All of you! Pipe down!" the room went silent.

"The Twilight Realm has begun a nation-wide search investigation!"

"What are we searching for…?" a child next to Link murmured. The crowd started yelling the same thing.

"If you would _be quiet,_ I could tell you!" the guard yelled. The room was silent again.

"We are missing Princess Midna."

Link internally choked. No one said a word- everyone was too stunned to speak. The guard's words became softer.

"We should have been kinder to our Princess. We all know we are shamed."

The Twili nodded in sad agreement.

"But we need to look for her. I will not rest until she is found."

The Twili nodded again.

"For the princess!" he yelled.

The crowd echoed.

"For the Twilight Realm!"

They echoed again.

Link remained silent. He displayed not one emotion- he never did. When he was about to die, he never said a word. But there had always been a potion or a fairy. But those can't mend emotions.

Where could she have gone? Did she run away, or did she get kidnapped? Ganondorf is dead… and Zelda wouldn't do that. …Would she?

A small, quiet scream alerted Link. He ran outside immediately, some of the Twili followed him. There was no one around, but he was sure he heard someone.

"Midna…" Link whispered quietly.

A Twili came up to him. "You think that was our Princess?" she asked.

Link nodded.

"Well then, where is she?"

Link refused the urge to hit her. He made it a rhetorical question and ran to the East Side Palace hall. **(Thing.) **He looked in all of the three rooms, and no Midna. He went to the other one, and still no Midna. She wasn't here, that much was assured.

Noise can't pass through the Mirror of Twilight, can it? He ran over to it, then looked at the sky.

_Midna… where could you be… _

As though the Goddesses answered his question, the answer smacked him in the face.

_Of course!_

Midna wanted to prove she had the ability to do things without help. She went to find the power in the open Twilight! Of course- that would explain her scream. She probably fell. Hopefully she's okay… and alive…

But Link wasn't stupid, like Midna. He needed a plan. He wasn't going to jump, so he went back to Hyrule to get Zelda. He was going to use the chains.

* * *

**(Midna's POV) **Midna was alone again. It gave her time to think. Maybe too much time, because now she was too afraid to do anything.

There were no windows, and the walls were too thick to break. She already tried. And Midna had no idea of how many minions Zant had.

More importantly, Zant was _alive. _She had killed him, hadn't she? She turned into an arachnid and… and made him explode. She ripped his chest out- Midna remembered it perfectly.

But… did Ganondorf resurrect him before she and Link had killed him? It was possible.

Slowly, Twilight magic spread over the area that the door had been. Zant walked in.

"Sorry, but I'm bored. Maybe we can keep each other company?" he asked, his voice… friendly.

Midna kept up a glare. Zant sighed and sat on the ground. Midna took the chance and ran towards him, feeling the electricity race through her. When she got close, Zant put up one hand. A glowing, blue transparent hexagon appeared in front of her. She tried to stop running, but not in time. She ran right into it. It held her there while it shocked her, then threw her across the room. Her back pounded against the wall and something cracked inside her. She slid down the wall like a raindrop.

"Oh Midna, I'm sorry. But I don't really feel like dying."

"You let me out of here!" she yelled at him.

"Or what?"

Midna said nothing. She knew it was useless- Zant had more power than her.

"You see, Midna, there is nothing you can do. And if I can't rule the Twilight, nobody can. So let's just watch the Twili's lives go right down the tubes, shall we?"

"How are you going to watch them? You'd have to let me out in order for us to watch them."

"You know, that's very clever of you. But I'm smarter than that. And we're not going to _watch_ them, per se, but it's a matter of time. Soon, they will be lost. They'll resort to violence to solve their problems, and food supply will run out, and they'll go into Hyrule, where they will all be killed. And when the Hylians try to destroy the mirror of Twilight, or put it somewhere where no one can reach it, then the Twilight realm would be empty. It would be just you and me, Midna, dear."

"Excuse me? I'm no one's _dear."_

"Speaking of which, how's Link?" Zant smirked. "Is it true that he's… engaged?"

"…How'd you hear about that…?" Midna asked quietly.

"I do have a few spies of my own, Midna. There was that, terrible, horrible loss when Zeph died. A good spy."

"Zeph… was your spy?!"

"Indeed he was."

Midna said nothing, but looked down at the clear floor.

"You like the floor? It's an illusion. It makes you think there are so many floors to this building, when there's only two. This is the basement. But if you count that as a floor, then there are three."

"Where are we…?"

"I cannot tell you that! Then you might be able to do something with that information. Really, Midna, did you expect I'd answer that question?"

"Why are you alive?"

"Well isn't that a rude question. You know, I don't have to tell you anything. Maybe if you're a bit nicer to me, I would tell you."

Midna sighed exasperatedly. "How did you get here?" she managed to say through clenched teeth.

"An improvement, I guess. Well, your probable thoughts were correct- Ganondorf did bring me back to life, as I promised earlier. Such a shame he died. Of course, I have no pity for him. He used me, and now he's dead. Life's great, is it not?"

"Not particularly."

"Besides the obvious reason, why are you so mad to be here? Is it because you're away from all of your friends?" Zant asked with a smirk.

Midna said nothing.

"Now, now, Midna, if you don't say anything more, how am I to?"

"No."

"Again, if you lie, so can I."

Midna took a deep breath and released it. Might as well tell him.

"Yes," she muttered.

"From Link?"

"Yes."

"Good fighter. How ironic- a beast seems to live inside him, and he is part wolf." Zant chuckled.

Midna glared at him.

"May I ask why you love him?"

"No."

"Trying to get around rules, are we? I see the honesty in your eyes- you really don't want to talk to me. I understand. But if you want the answer as to where we are, I want some information too. A win-win situation, if you ask me."

"I'm not asking you."

"I know. Now, answer the question."

"Answer mine first."

"Who, may I ask, is the person who has you locked in a chamber?" Zant's voice went deeper, to a sinister whisper. "You're at my mercy, Midna."

Midna took in a deep sigh. She knew that, yet she refused to admit it. And talking about this with Zant… why did he want to know anyway?

"I'm waiting for an answer."

Midna decided to stall. "Why do you care?"

"I'm just interested, is all. Trying to make a decent conversation. But enough of this side talk, why do you love Link?"

"I just do, okay? I have no explanation."

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it? But I don't want to delve too deeply into the topic- it isn't my business. So tell me, what's life like up on the surface?"

"We're below the surface?"

"Not exactly. But I assume you could call it that."

"Then where are we?"

"Ah ah ah! Answer my question."

"It's great. Now where are we?"

"Doesn't below the surface count?"

"No."

"Well then, I have nothing more to tell you."

"Hey! You said you'd answer my question!"

"No, I never said that. I said, "Really, Midna, did you think I'd answer that question?""

"When can I leave?"

"Now _that's _a nice way to put it! Well, when I allow you to, I guess. I mean, isn't that the only answer?"

"No, you could say, "I'll let you walk out of here right now.""

"But did you expect me to say that?"

Midna said nothing.

"Exactly. Oh and I also hear that… the Twili kidnapped Zelda?"

Midna nodded.

"You're people sure are rebellious, aren't they?"

Midna nodded again.

Zant chuckled. "Yes, they are. But I'll advise you to turn them into monsters. They're much more obedient.

"That's because you were controlling their minds, you savage _beast_!"

"Now, now, Midna, don't get out of hand…"

"You can't keep me down! You'll have to kill me first!"

"But I don't _want _to kill you. It's more fun to see people struggle, you know?" Zant's voice became that sinister tone again that made Midna's spine shudder. "I'll push you to your limit's end, your mind on the verge of exploding, and make your senses feel like your body is being torn limb from limb…"

Midna started to shake, from anger and fear.

"…but will not kill you."

"I'd rather you kill me now!"

"I bet you would." Zant walked out of the room. At first, it was silent. Then she heard slight buzzing noises. She looked around- a pale yellow gas was being released into the chamber. She ducked down into the middle of the room and took in her last breath.

The gas made her head spin, and she saw images surrounding her. They were the shadow beasts, and they were chasing her. She got up and ran away, feeling her heart beat faster and harder. She ran into the concrete wall, and her nose started bleeding. Her mind was pounding against her skull, and she let out an ear-piercing scream.

_And let the torture begin…_

* * *

**Hm. So that wasn't a bad chapter, I think.  
Should I say, "Keep at it! WOO?" Well, I just did. So there.**

**YOU BETTER REVIEW!!! It'll make me happy. See? Smiling! Press the button! Do it now! Make your mouse cursor click on the button that says "Submit Review/Feedback"! STOP READING THIS AND GO DO IT!!!! ...Please? =)**


	18. Just a Peck?

**I'm BACK guys, and BETTER than EVER!**

**No, just kidding. My chapters will be no better than usual. **

**On a random note, I'm thinking about putting Harry Potter quotes into my chapters. Like, **

"**One thing I would like to know though," she said, fixing her eyes on a spot a foot over Ron's head. "How exactly did you find us tonight? That's important. Once we know, we'll be able to make sure we're not visited by anyone else we don't want to see."**

…**BURN. Hermione just dissed her future husband. **

**ANYWAY…. Thanks for the reviews, guys! Love you all! I mean really- **_**71 reviews?! **_**That's gold if you ask me. Yes, I've seen those 9000 reviews on a story, but I'm quite content with all my readers and their reviews. Love you all!**

…

**Silence is golden. Duck tape is silver. **

…

**Favorite quote. Randomness!**

**On with the story then! As Link says, YA!!! **

**(Link's POV) **_Faster… Faster… C'mon… _Link thought as he kicked Epona's ribs for the sixth time on the field. Epona neighed, and reared. She turned her head and looked at Link.

"Sorry, Epona, but this is an emergency! We need to get to the castle!"

As if she understood, she looked at Hyrule Castle's highest tower peeking up over the mountains. She started galloping towards it, and Link held on as tight as he could. He was about to lose his foothold in the stirrups, and slowed Epona to a normal canter. They reached Faron Province eventually and entered through the South Gate. He let Epona drink the water flowing out of the fountain and he sprinted to the door.

Cheers erupted when he got inside- it was the three girls who loved him so much. It seemed as if their eyes were hearts and they were smiling at him so intently. Link said nothing but shoved past them and they shrieked when he brushed their shoulders. He ran faster than they did, but Castle Town was very crowded today, making it harder to move. He went into the central square and hid behind a man talking to his friend. The girls' confused expressions told Link that he had lost them. When the girls walked away, the two men smiled.

"Got some admirers, do ya, eh?" one of the men asked.

"Uh, guess so," Link said, looking continuously behind him to the castle.

"You gots some good lookin' ones too," the other added on, watching them walk back to the southern throughfare.

"Bah, they're too young for you, you old cook!"

"Yer just jealous that I look younger than you do!"

"I am 62 years old, and you're what, 105?"

69!"

Link took the opportunity to leave, and sprinted to the castle doors. He met the two guards at the gate, and halted when one stuck out his spear.

_Oh come on, what _else _could slow me down? _Link thought.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"Aren't _you _original," Link muttered under his breath.

"Pardon me?" the guard sneered.

"It is I, Link, and prepare to meet your doom," Link said, sounding bored.

"Hey, that's the password!" the other guard said.

"Shut up, you idiot!" the guard with the spear said and poked the other guard in the stomach. "I'll kill you now!"

The guard hunched his shoulders and looked down.

"Now," the guard with the spear said, "what business do you have with the Royal Family of Hyrule?"

"I have to see Princess Zelda, _now."_

"Wait, what's your name again?"

"Link."

"Link what?"

"Just Link."

"… Whatever. I don't really care now that Ganondorf is dead. You may pass."

Link started walking, but was stopped when the guard without a spear grabbed his arm.

"I know you killed Ganondorf," he whispered, "and you'll pay for it. Zant said—"

"What are you doing? Let him go!" the guard with the spear said. The guard let go of Link's arm and let him pass.

Link didn't even register what the second guard said in his mind- he sprinted to the castle without a second thought. He opened the front doors without a knock, and the Queen of Hyrule looked up from her book.

Link noticed that there was furniture in the main hall now. Was it ever furnished? He didn't know.

"Good afternoon, Warrior!" the Queen greeted him. "How may I help you?"

"I must see Princess Zelda. It is an emergency," Link said urgently, making sure there was might in his voice.

"Of course dear! And really, you can call her Zelda. She won't mind."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Oh, you can call me Mom!"

Link put a fake smile on and started up the stairs, then grimaced. Once he got inside a door, he shuddered.

"Link, are you cold?" Zelda's voice came from around the corner. She walked out in front of him. "I saw you shivering."

"Just… got the chills. But I have to talk to you."

"About?" Zelda asked, turning her head a little, showing her concern.

"Midna."

Apparently, Zelda had expected this, because she gulped.

"She's gone missing," Link stated.

Then Zelda's eyes flew open- not what she was expecting at all. "Pardon me?"

"I don't think she was kidnapped- I think she jumped."

"Jumped where?" Zelda asked, growing impatient.

"Into the Open Twilight."

Zelda was silent. She glanced over her shoulder, but turned quickly back to Link.

"Use the chains then, right?" she asked.

Link looked over her shoulder to where Zelda was looking. Four people were snipping off and adding on fabric to a beautiful white gown. Link tried not to show disappointment.

"That's what I was thinking."

"What if we run out?"

"We find something else. But you're not going down there, and you're not strong enough to hold me without dropping me," Link said sternly.

"I have magic on my side."

Link nodded. It would have to do.

"Then tonight…"

"We use my magic to rip the chains off their hooks and smuggle them away to Arbiter's Grounds," Zelda finished, sounding worried.

"You won't get in trouble," Link said softly, trying to calm her. "You're helping a friend for the better."

"I hope so. I just hope… we're not too late."

Zelda just stated the nightmare of his life- if Midna were to die and Link not being able to help her. Of all the times she almost died for him, of all the times she saved him, Link owed her. And saving her life this time was going to be it.

That ear piercing scream Link had heard played over and over again in his mind- like a broken record player. It tortured him, and he held his head up with his hand and slid down the wall. Zelda sat beside him and rubbed his shoulder.

"Emotional pain causes more damage than physical," Zelda said quietly. "The heart takes longer to mend than bones do."

Link nodded. "Yeah. No kidding."

They sat there awhile, Link hoping Midna was okay and Zelda probably hoping Link still "loved" her.

Wait, Zelda was implying that Midna was dead. Link looked alarmed at Zelda, and Zelda couldn't meet his eyes. She only closed them and a tear slid down her cheek.

"No… she's not…"

"I think she is, Link. She couldn't have survived the fall," Zelda said, more tears falling from her eyes and landing on his knee.

Link kept shaking his head no, and remembered the night that Link and she had kissed… that beautiful night, and then Midna walked out and almost killed herself.

The door opened and a brilliant light shone in- the Queen walked in. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Zelda almost said yes, but Link spoke sooner. "No. No, it's fine."

Zelda looked disappointed, but stood up. Link continued sitting and the Queen walked over with the people making Zelda's dress. She told them what a great job they were doing, and how she wished they made her wedding dress…

Link couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Zelda's arm and quietly slipped out the door.

"The chains are with the drawbridge, correct?" Link asked, but it sounded like a statement.

"Um, yes, that's where they should be, like every other castle…"

Link went out the doors and stopped when they got outside the castle walls.

"How will we get you across without you being seen?" Link asked, narrowing his eyes at the crowd in the Town Square.

"Must I not be seen?"

"They'll know you're not in the castle."

"But they won't know where I'm going."

Link stared for a moment, but decided to just go for it. After all, time matters.

They both continued down the ramp, Link set on getting the chains, Zelda was set on doing something else.

When they reached the Town Square, nobody paid any attention to them. Not until someone bumped into Zelda.

"Hey, watch where you're… Princess Zelda!"

Everybody stared and bowed, almost in unison. It made Link claw at his leg where his hands hung. He didn't like attention, and being King would drive him insane.

The woman got to her knees and bowed deeply. "I'm so terribly sorry! I didn't know… I'm sorry, Your Highness."

"It is alright. Now please, if you wouldn't mind, may you step aside?"

"Of course!" the woman jumped right up and moved to Link's side. Zelda grabbed Link's hand and didn't look at him as they moved across the square to the Western Throughfare. Whispers of delight echoed across the plaza- they were so happy to see Zelda loving someone. But more importantly, no one loved her back.

Link tried several times to make Zelda let go of his hand unnoticeably, but it failed. Zelda's grip was too strong. When they got out of Castle Town, Zelda let go.

"Why'd you do that?" Link asked, trying to not sound annoyed.

"Link, we're _engaged, _and you don't even want to hold my hand? We should be closer. I mean for crying out loud, we haven't even kissed!"

Link coughed when she said that- trying everything he could to not hear it.

Link started to get mad when Zelda walked closer to him, so he picked up the pace. "We will at the wedding," Link said, his teeth clenching.

They didn't say anything as the lowered the drawbridge down as quietly as they could and unraveled the chains from the hook. They were rusted to the stone and left marks where they were, but eventually they both got them out. Zelda used a lot of her magic and was exhausted but daintily drank from the river below. It still looked odd for the princess to do that for herself, but she managed to not leave a stain on her dress.

Zelda lifted the chains up into the air with her magic and a gold glow enveloped them. Link called Epona and they both got onto her back, Link steering and Zelda controlling the chains in the air. By the time they reached Faron Province she was sweating.

"Could we take a break?" she asked, panting.

Link knew there was no time for breaks, but Zelda was his only hope of getting the chains to the Twilight Realm. And once they were there, how were they going to lower him down?

Zelda dropped her arms to her sides and let out an exasperated sigh. She drank from the river nearby and plopped herself on the ground.

Link quickly took off Epona's saddle and threw water on her back and neck, and the water dripped down her legs and onto the grass. She happily chomped on some while Link put the saddle back on. Zelda braided Epona's mane and Link jumped on her back again. Zelda shortly followed and picked up the chains with her magic. Epona reared and started galloping east. Link, by instinct, let his eyes wander the area in front of him in case a bublin were to pop out and fire arrows, but nothing did. It made the trip a lot smoother.

Link parked Epona by Lake Hylia to keep her cool and Link and Zelda continued their journey on foot. It seemed to take longer with Zelda. Not just because Epona was weighed down more, but Zelda's company dragged seconds.

Zelda dropped the chains once they reached the front of Arbiter's Grounds and they both stared at the top of the huge building. A bright light blue light shone out at the top after a few moments of staring at it- and Link automatically took out his sword and shield and was prepared to fight. Zelda narrowed her eyes and clenched her gloved fists.

Black and grey bodies jumped from the balcony at the top to the ground and ran past the two people, heading for Lake Hylia. More and more jumped out, some giving the two dirty looks, some smiling. But they all seemed to have a common goal.

"Hyrule is left unprotected!" Zelda exclaimed.

"The army knows what to do—"

"They'll be massacred!"

"Zelda, they'll be fine! Midna needs to be here too to keep her country under control!"

They started up Arbiter's Grounds as visions of Midna clouded Link's mind and Zelda held Link's hand and leaned into his cheek.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

**Um, well, it's not the best, but hey, it's okay. Please review! I mean, you've reviewed every other chapter, why stop here? =D**

**Keep at it!**

**WOO!!**


	19. The War in their Hearts is Over

**This chapter is going to be the longest I have, I believe. It might be six pages! That's long, for my story. I'm sorry about that- chapters shouldn't be extremely long. **

**

* * *

**

Link and Zelda, whose sweat was now visible through her dress, finally made it to the balcony of Arbiter's Grounds. Zelda dropped to her knees and looked at the steps to the Mirror Chamber.

"So close… Yet so far…"

"You can make it, Zelda."

"You try it- lugging up chains using magic!"

Link raised his eyebrows, and Zelda hung her head, but met Link's eyes. "I'm sorry for being so rude, it's just… I'm very tired."

"We're almost there- we can take a break when we get to the Twilight Realm."

Zelda took a deep breath, but made no more complaint. She motioned with her hands for the chains to come up, and they did. The golden glow was around them, and Zelda started walking. Link followed, and chuckled once when Zelda didn't see the opening in the steps and fell through.

Zelda didn't look at him- Link knew she was blushing. She picked herself up and continued.

The Mirror of Twilight allowed them to pass through, but something on it made Link nervous- it was a tiny crack on the right side. But he made no movement to touch it- he was afraid he would make it worse. After all, this was a needed object in his life. Midna wasn't going to break it and never see him again.

Zelda went through first, and Link followed. He found her staring at the palace- it was burning. The side halls were completely destroyed, and some Hylians were still there throwing flammable objects into it. Some of the parts of the statues were missing, and Link noticed one that made him furious- it was Midna's stone head.

"That's not…"

"No, Link, that's not the real Midna. That's a statue."

Link couldn't help but ask- he was too afraid that Midna was already dead.

She probably was.

Zelda had started working on tying a chain belt for Link and then threw it over his head and let it fall to his side.

"Tell me when…"

Zelda started tightening it little by little and started to crush his ribs. "It's fine!" Link choked out. Zelda nodded and picked up the end of the chain and threw him down into the Open Twilight.

When there was no more chain left to fall, the recess of the iron must have reduced his stomach size- he almost threw up.

"I have no more chain!"

"You _couldn't _have done that slower?!"

"Midna's life is at stake!"

"You don't want to kill me while trying to save hers!"

Zelda groaned. "Take it like a man! Now what should I do?"

"Use your magic to lower me farther!"

Zelda didn't say anything more; if she did, Link couldn't hear her. It was just the way Link liked it to be.

He kept going lower and lower into the Open Twilight, and the darkness immersed him almost entirely. He almost couldn't see the chain above him.

A faint, tiny blue light slowly came into focus, and it grew larger for a time, and then stopped. Link realized he had stopped falling. He swung slowly back and forth for a moment or two, and Link tried to struggle out of the chain prison. He had gotten one arm out when he started falling faster and faster- Zelda must have let go of the chains.

Link knew he shouldn't panic- he just kept quiet for a moment or two, but then realized he couldn't hold it in any longer; he started to scream, but only for a second. But that second was long enough to let someone know he was here.

He hit the ground hard- really hard. So hard that he heard his knee crush with his weight and gravity forcing him to the ground.

Link couldn't see anything but that faint blue light, so he walked towards it, finding no where better to go. His hurt leg dragged a little on the ground, and soon he couldn't bear it any longer. Carefully, he sat on the ground.

The ground didn't feel right- it was like wet sand, but felt gross. Deciding it would be best not to stay there too much longer, he started walking again.

The light got didn't get any brighter, but got bigger. Soon, the light split in two. As he got closer, he saw a silhouette standing by the light. Link whipped out his sword and shield.

He forgot his sword shone with the Sol's light in the Twilight Realm, and used it to look at the ground. It was black, it looked like, with pebbles in them. Little red pebbles. He put his sword up- the tip of it facing the silhouette, but only got a glimpse of his pants and part of his chest. It was enough.

"Redmer," the silhouette said. Link took in a quiet breath; this voice…?"They're quite powerful. But you must know how to use them to get the power."

Link glared at the silhouette.

"You can't see me, but I can see you. That's because the light of my eyes points at you, but the shadow faces me."

"Zant," Link hissed.

"Yes?"

"Where's Midna," he demanded.

"We're having tea inside, would you like some?"

"Funny."

"I'm not kidding. But you see, it's a different kind of tea. I wanted her to try a different brand of mine."

"Don't you poison her!" Link yelled and charged up his sword and did the improved Jump Attack.

Zant made both of his hands and forearms parallel, his fingers clawed. Then he straightened them again, and an orange and black ball of magic came flying at Link. He blocked it with his shield.

"She hasn't had it yet," Zant murmured, his voice quiet. "But she will. And I will personally give it to her. I'll let you have some too, if you would like."

Link hit Zant with his shield and then did the helm splitter and the improved spin attack. Zant made a force field with his hands and protected himself with it.

_Can he really just stay like that forever? _

Link looked harder- Zant seemed to be concentrating really hard. _No… It must take energy. Just let him stay like that and…_

Zant started to move towards a larger silhouette and went inside it. A house? Down here?

_Wait…_ _MIDNA!_

Link charged in after him, his sword at the ready, looking for Zant and his red force field. He saw nothing.

"Midna!" Link called loudly. "Answer me!"

Nothing was heard for a moment, but Link was sure he heard muffled screaming. He looked all around- all he saw was concrete wall and the door that led outside. There was nothing more in the room.

"Midna!" he yelled again. "Midna!" Link was spinning around in circles, hoping that her image will be visible to him, or at least Zant, to know where he was…

There was no more screaming now. "Midna…!" Link called desperately, on the verge of going insane.

Then he heard more muffled screaming, and a faint ripping sound.

"Link! Link! Get me out!"

Relief washed over him, but began to look more frantically.

"WATCH OUT!"

Zant came up behind Link and unleashed magic on his back. Link was flung forward at the force of the hit and fell on his stomach. He got up instantly and picked a bomb out of his pack and threw it at him. Zant dodged it easily. Link coughed from the smoke and it watered his eyes.

"LEFT!" someone called. Link immediately turned to his left and saw Zant charging up some magic. Link did a back flip and narrowly missed the spell by inches.

Zant went to the far corner of the room and Link did the same. They stood staring at each other for a moment, their vision still clouded by smoke.

"I see. This is how it shall be played. But… it's unfair. So… Midna?"

Zant disappeared behind a cloud of smoke. Link charged forward at him, but he was gone.

Link hit the walls with his sword- hoping one wall will sound different than another. It was no use. He went all the way around the room.

Suddenly something appeared in front of him. It was… an orange and black spike.

_"Since Zant was so kind enough to give us this gift, I think we should put it to good use!" _

Midna had said that while they were in the Sacred Grove, trying to find the Master Sword.

It was the spike that gave Link the ability to transform into a wolf! Immediately he touched it with his forefinger and felt that familiar sensation about him being forced onto his hands and knees and the weird feeling of growing fur.

He turned on his senses and looked around. A light blue wall stuck out among the regular concrete. Link remembered the spot and touched the spike again, turning himself into a human so he could open the door.

He couldn't bring the spike with him- hopefully he wouldn't need it. If he touched it- he would turn into a wolf. And as a wolf, he can't open doors. But Link didn't have time to think- he opened the door and went through.

There was a light blue tint in this long hallway, and it seemed the building went on forever. The floor was clear glass and showed many, many hallways beneath him.

_Knowing Zant.... mostly, he probably put her on the bottom floor…_

Link looked for staircases, opened every door, but they were all empty dungeons.

He opened the last door in the hall. It was a staircase, but something orange caught his eye. It was a clump of hair… Midna's hair. It looked like it was yanked out of her head. Link looked down the staircase. It seemed to get darker when it got to the landing, and there was no light down there at all. Link took out his sword and shield again and let the Master Sword guide him.

He found several more doors too. Upon opening them, a stench so terrible it could only come from a rotted corpse filled his nose and watered his eyes. The oxygen, what little there was, felt terrible to inhale. Yet still he kept going- his heart and mind determined to find Midna, and he sprinted past this hallway, but still opened the doors. Finally he got to another staircase. It got brighter down there, so away he went, relieved to have light. But he didn't put away his weapon; he must not be so quick to lower his defenses.

The smell still existed, but it was faint. He walked this time, and breathed in a small breath of air. It was still very hard to breathe, and his head was growing dizzy, but he was still alive. That was all that mattered.

Midna wasn't screaming anymore, and the silence scared Link the most. He tried the next stone knob, and it wouldn't open.

"Found us, Link? Try getting in! This door's different!"

"Midna!" Link yelled, trying to get some help. She didn't respond. He banged on the door, but it did no good use. He looked around at all the other doors- they had splintery wooden knobs- this one was stone. The knob wouldn't turn, either. So he did the only thing he could think of- use his sword and slash it open. It actually worked.

Zant was apparently surprised to see him- he immediately stood up in front of Midna and had his hands clawed in case he would need them.

"Fancy sword you have there," Zant said calmly, even though his chest was heaving.

"It'll be the one to rip your heart out!" Link yelled, but didn't move. He could hurt Midna if Zant dodged his attacks.

Zant fired a small ball of evil magic at him, and Link blocked it with his shield. Then Zant rose into the air. His body split into seven, exact copies of himself. In unison, they all rose their hands to their chest and concocted a spell. Link ran over and stood in the right corner, opposite where Midna lay unconscious on a wooden chair in the left corner.

Zant threw the ball of magic at Link, and blocked every one except one spell with his shield. The one spell didn't hurt too much, but he felt it when he placed his weight on it.

Zant thought for a moment, then turned to the helpless Midna. He readied a ball of magic and prepared to throw it at her.

Link's eyes widened and ran towards her. Zant threw the magic, but Link was there in time. The magic got Link right in the middle of his chest, close to where his heart was.

Link screamed- the pain was so terrible. The magic held him in the air for a moment, but then he crashed to the ground. Link felt like he was on the verge of passing out, but he lied there, still conscious, but he couldn't move.

"Still breathing, eh?" Zant's voice echoed in the small room. "We can fix that. Then you can be with Midna again."

That set Link off. He shakily got to his feet and thrust his sword toward Zant. He got him, right on the arm where Zant was about to defend himself. His cut bled so much that it fell to the floor in chunks. Link was unaware that he was bleeding as well- a big red stain was on his chest. He clutched it with his life- it was his vulnerable spot now.

Link scooped up Midna in his arms and ran out of her prison. He was leaving a trail of blood- and knew that running made his blood pump more and more out of the gaping hole in his chest, but he continued anyway. As long as Midna was safe, he could die.

He ran through the pitch black hallway and up the stairs and out of the jail. Then he fell to his knees and Midna rolled out of his arms.

Link coughed, and blood went out of his mouth and along with his spit. It didn't hit Midna, but Link still faced the other way.

_Must… save… Midna…!_

Link used that thought to stand up, but immediately fell down again. His head was too dizzy.

_"Redmer. They're quite powerful. But you must know how to use them to get the power…"_

Link did the only thing he thought of- he picked one up and put it into his mouth and chewed, and swallowed.

He felt the effects of it immediately. The taste was disgusting, and it made him almost throw up. But Link was sure this was the way. His head and his chest felt terrible, and a few spots on his leg were in excruciating pain as well. He looked at his chest, and the skin was bubbling. It was expanding over the gaping hole. The blood was being sealed away inside him, and his head was becoming less and less fuzzier.

It was healing him. And soon, he could stand up. He picked Midna up, who was covered with blood on her left side because of her body touching his wound.

Link jumped into the air without thinking to the ledge closest to the ground. He made it. He continued this for an hour or so, Midna not waking up.

Eventually, he could see, and his heartbeat started picking up. Link didn't know where Zant was, and didn't really care. His heart and mind were now set on bringing Midna back to where she belonged.

The light from the Twilight Realm became brighter evermore, and he saw Zelda and all the Twili people waiting Link's return.

Cheers erupted when Link jumped to the top ledge. Zelda came to him and gave him a big hug, and then the rest of the Twili encircled him, but stayed well away from the Open Twilight.

Midna's eyes flickered, and the rest of the crowd became silent. Link looked hopefully down at her, and then her red eyes opened entirely, and everybody cheered and roared and was happy.

Midna must have realized this wasn't a dream, or she wanted to make the most of it, so she leaned her head against Link's red chest and smiled. Link tilted her down, and Midna got up from his embrace and stood up. The Twili hugged her and were delighted to have her back. Some cried with joy, some patted her on the back, but Midna leaned against Link and put her lips to his ear and whispered, "Thanks."

Link smiled and nodded. "Any time."

Then the Twili thanked Link. They ran to him, thanked him many times over, and told him what a great warrior he was and how he has saved them many times.

When the Twili had all gone back to their houses, it was sunset. The time the light world and the shadow realm were closest. Zelda walked up to the passage to Hyrule.

"Guess this is farewell, huh?" Link asked Midna, smiling sadly.

"I hope not, but…"

"It should be." Link finished for her, his eyes showing he was so depressed.

"…Yeah." Midna muttered.

"Maybe this is how it should be. No more Hylians will bother the Twilight Realm, and Ganondorf and Zant won't be back in Hyrule," Zelda said optimistically. "I just wish that you could come to our wedding, Midna."

"It would be fun, but I think it would be best if I stayed here. Zant's not dead yet. Our battle rages on."

"I want to fight that for you," Link said. Midna shook her head.

Zelda walked up to Midna and took her hand. "Thank you, so much, for everything. You and Link fulfilled my destiny of saving Hyrule. When I was weak, you were strong."

Midna nodded and smiled faintly.

Zelda walked up to the passage to Hyrule and waved, and stepped inside the ring. In moments, she was gone.

The light of the Mirror of Twilight started flickering, and Link and Midna gasped. The ring of light started to fade, and soon, it vanished. The mirror must have been broken!

"I… guess this means the wedding's off, huh?" Link said and smiled.

"Link! This is terrible! You can't get back!"

Link took Midna's head in his hands. "I don't mind…" Link murmured, and kissed her passionately on the lips. Midna kissed back, but didn't move. "Do you?"

Midna stood there, her eyes with worry. But she stepped closer to Link and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No…"

They kissed there, in the dim light of the Twilight Realm, knowing that they're together, forever.

* * *

**Did… you… like it? I personally thought it was okay. There's an epilogue next, by the way. Harry Potter style! Kidding. I don't know how I'll do it.  
****Thanks for reviewing!!! I love you guys so much!!!  
****Keep at it!  
****WOO!!**


	20. Six Years Later

**Six Years Later**

Midna and Link sat in their thrones, grinning hugely. It was the first day after their marriage, and was also the first time an outsider of the Twilight Realm was King.

Midna wasn't quite sure how Link felt about this, but judging by the size of his smile, and the fact that he never smiles, he was happy.

Link also proudly wore the Triforce upon his clothes, showing that he is a Hylian, and always will be. But for now, he said, he is very content with the Twilight Realm and all of its people.

After they received their blessings and talked with the Twili, they went to the private "sitting room" as Midna calls it.

"So… was the Nigellus family good to you?" Midna asked. Link had stayed with the Nigellus family for the past six years, and they were very good friends.

"They always were, from day one. But I think this will be better," Link smirked.

Midna shrugged. "I like my old palace better. But… this will do. I get lost in it though."

"I'm surprised Zant only came up once in the past," Link said, his eyes narrowed.

"He'll try again, but you and I will be there for the Twili."

"We always will."

Midna smiled and leaned against Link. Link put his arm around her and rested his head on top of hers.

"Do you miss it?" Midna asked.

"Miss what?"

"Hyrule."

Link hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Yes. I do. But… I like living here. It's different."

"I think about trying to restore the Mirror from this side, but because the Mirror is in Hyrule…"

"Don't even think about it. Then Zelda will come back."

"Why'd you say yes then?" Midna asked, first annoyed, then turned her voice down.

"I felt like… it was the right thing to do."

"Don't say yes if you don't love somebody," Midna stated, looking up at him.

"I said yes this time, and I really mean it. With all my heart and soul."

Midna smiled and gave him a quick kiss, then leaned against him again.

"So… you're not mad at me anymore, right?" Link asked

"What do you mean?"

"You were really mad at me a while ago."

"That was what, like, seven years ago?"

"So you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not."

"Good. It really hurt that you were mad, because I knew it was my fault."

"Well… then… our little war is over, huh?"

"Our Seven Year War."

Link and Midna smiled and kissed each other full on the lips.

Monday, August 10. The Peace Treaty was signed.

**Thank you SO MUCH for reading my little story here! To ALL of my readers, to every Zelda fan out there, you ROCK. I love you all! **

**Thanks to the reviewers, who gave me the encouragement to finish this story! I hope you guys continue to love MidnaxLink fanfics, because there WILL BE MORE!!!**

**I don't think I can say Thank You enough, and this Author's Note will go on longer than this epilogue does, so I'll end it here.**

**Keep at it!**

**WOO!!**


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